The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan is now official. Microsoft has revealed pricing details for the long-standing plan, which is now available in Ireland and Colombia. As the name suggests, the subscription will allow users to share the benefits of their account with up to four people in their gaming circle. The plan was tested inside preview earlier this month, and now costs €21.99 (approximately Rs 1,746) per month in Ireland and 49,900 COP (approximately Rs 893) in Colombia.
Unlike Spotify, Microsoft isn’t limiting this feature to “real” family members by asking users to enter their home addresses. In fact, the only stipulation with the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan is that everyone in the circle needs to live in the same country. The company has started testing the feature in Ireland and Colombia with fixed regional pricing. All five users need to be logged in or create Microsoft accounts to claim benefits. Currently, there’s no information on how it compares to Steam’s Family Sharing feature—which, for free, charges you for the game.
All Game Pass benefits will be shared across five accounts, including hundreds of high-quality games, first day launches, Xbox Game Studio exclusives, member discounts, and EA Play memberships. It is given that the primary account holder will be responsible for adding members to the group and making timely payments. This serves as a cheap alternative, letting a group split the totals, and allowing the club to access games in small amounts each month. Since all accounts in the group are treated as separate entities, features such as Xbox achievements, cloud saves, and game progress will be tailored uniquely to each user.
Previous reports indicated that the Friends and Family plan would be slightly more expensive than Game Pass Ultimate. Existing customers can convert the remainder of their subscription to the new family plan over time, “based on the monetary value of the old subscription.” the company issued a thread for the same:
- 30 Days Xbox Game Pass Ultimate = 18 Days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
- 30 Days Xbox Game Pass (Console) = 12 Days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
- 30 Days PC Game Pass = 12 Days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
- 30 Days EA Play = 6 Days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan is currently not available in India, US, UK or other countries of the world. Further details regarding the same should be expected in time. In India, Game Pass is currently available only Rs. 50 for first-timers, after which users will be expected to pay Rs. 349 per month. Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles Xbox Live Gold, EA Play and PC Game Pass, comes at Rs. 499 per month.
The Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family plan is now available on Xbox One in Colombia and Ireland, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PC via PC Game Pass.
