A Bunch Of Game Pass Subscribers Are About To Get New Perks

Microsoft is experimenting with expanded PC and cloud gaming access for Game Pass Core ($10) and Game Pass Standard ($15) subscribers. Xbox Insiders can test limited cloud and PC access to certain titles now, with a broader rollout planned later. The benefit adds cloud gaming to roughly 50 Core titles and over 400 Standard titles, and enables cloud play for supported games that players already own, a feature previously limited to Game Pass Ultimate. Microsoft will also provide PC versions for some Core and Standard games, allowing console players to switch to PC without repurchasing. The Insider pilot aims to reduce platform fragmentation and move toward a more unified gaming experience.

The company is experimenting with giving Game Pass Core ($10 a month) and Game Pass Standard ($15 a month) members limited access to certain games via the cloud and PC. Xbox Insiders can begin testing this initiative today, with a version of it seemingly planned to roll out to everyone in the not too distant future. The new benefit essentially adds cloud gaming support to all games in the Core (around 50 games) and Standard (over 400 games) libraries.

Microsoft says it will also make PC versions of some Core and Standard games as well. So if you're already playing a game on console like Grounded, you can switch to playing the PC version without needing to buy it. Many of the Game Pass Core and Game Pass Standard game are already Play Anywhere titles, meaning buying them on console gets you the PC version and vice-versa, so there's an argument to be made that the Game Pass versions should have worked the same way.

Plus all of this is a raw deal when you consider Game Pass PC, which gives people who didn't buy an Xbox Series X/S access to way more games, including day-one releases, at a much cheaper price than their console-playing peers. Still, the latest Insider pilot program is the first step toward beginning to fill in many of these gaps as Microsoft tries to re-unify the gaming experience across different platforms.

Read at Kotaku