Xbox Game Pass “Friends and Family” sounds like a great deal

After a wave of rumors and leaks, Xbox has finally revealed some details about the account sharing plan for Game Pass. called Game Pass Friends & Family, it’s not yet available in the US. But when (or if) it eventually becomes available outside of the two countries that Microsoft is testing it in, it will certainly make a big difference.

Right now, Game Pass is already one of the best deals in gaming. For $10 a month, you can access a rotating library of hundreds of games on Xbox or PC. For $15 a month, you can subscribe to a higher tier: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which offers combined access to Xbox and PC libraries, bundles in the EA Play game library (similar games on demand from a sports game publisher). service) and offers the ability to stream over 100 games. Game Pass Friends and Family is pretty much the Ultimate tier, except you can share one account between up to five people, with one person designated as the primary account holder.

Game Pass Friends and Family is currently in its trial phase in Colombia and Ireland, where it costs 49,000 COP or €21.99 per month respectively. (At the time of this writing, these fees convert to $10.92 or $21.99 in US currency.) Xbox Game Pass Ultimate currently costs 29,000 Colombian pesos in Colombia as well as 12.99 euros in Ireland.

Anyone who subscribes to Game Pass will see months from existing subscriptions converted to partial months on the exchange plan. If you are currently subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, each remaining month will turn into 18 days of Game Pass Friends and Family. Those who subscribe to partial levels will see their subscriptions converted to 12 days of Game Pass Friends and Family.

On paper, assuming Microsoft follows a similar pricing scheme around the world, Game Pass Friends and Family are worth considering. Assuming the company picks the higher price, roughly $22 currently in effect in Ireland, that’s still a damn good deal. Take four friends on board and you’ll all pay less than $5 for everything you’d otherwise get three times as much. (It’s also a smart way for Microsoft to increase Game Pass subscribers, which missed recent goals.)

However, there are some limitations. If you are the account owner, you may only have four additional people on your account at any given time, and may only grant access to eight unique accounts per calendar year. In addition, it is region-specific: the main account holder can only add members who live in the same country or region.

It’s unclear if there are specific plans to bring Game Pass Friends and Family to regions other than the two in which Microsoft is currently testing the plan, or what the possible timeline is. (Microsoft representatives did not respond to a request for comment in time for posting.) But Microsoft posted encyclopedic FAQ on the US Xbox support page, suggesting there is at least some consideration for US players. It notes that “future countries may be added in the coming months.”