Microsoft recently did a pilot for their big Xbox Game Pass family plan in select regions and a new leak suggests they’re looking to really open the subscription up – even to non-paying users.
While the pilot for the new family plan was launched in Ireland and Colombia, it didn’t take long for users to start digging around. Twitter user Aggiornamenti Lumia noticed new branding for the service, listing it as ““Game Pass Friends & Family”.
This new branding indicates Microsoft could follow in the footsteps of other subscription platforms like Netflix, which allow multiple non-paying users access as sub-users all on the same account.
The limited info we have on the family plan is just that – it would somehow be limited to your “family”, likely only the users in your main household.
Furthermore, the pilot for the family plan also doesn’t mention a restriction on users being in the same family or household, only that they need to be in the same country (likely due to regional store restrictions and currency).
The preview is currently letting users in Ireland pay €21.99 per month over the regular €12.99 for the currently unnamed plan, which lets them share subscription benefits with up to four other users.
This new Xbox Game Pass family plan – which is probably going to follow the leaked branding naming scheme as “Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family,” will get you everything: online multiplayer, Game Pass, cloud gaming, EA Play, and this new account sharing for up to four other users.
The real question will be when this new plan goes worldwide – if Microsoft keeps it this open or if they try to restrict it to the same household.