Last updated on April 27, 2026
Microsoft is changing Xbox Game Pass again and this time they are making it cheaper. A new version called Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition was leaked by a data miner named Billbil-kun. This gives us a good idea of what Microsoft is planning.. We have to wait for Microsoft to confirm it.
So what do you get with Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition? You get around 50 games that you can play on your console and PC. You also get to play games on the cloud for 10 hours every month. Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition includes Xbox Play Anywhere, which means you can buy a game once and play it on both your console and PC. You also get the Xbox perks and rewards and you can use Discord Nitro.
This sounds like a deal for someone who does not want to pay for the full Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. They just want to play some games without spending a lot of money.
What You Get
Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition is simple. You get a lot of games. You can play them on your console and PC. You also get to play games on the cloud. Only for a little while. This is a way for Microsoft to get new players to try Xbox Game Pass.
The Part That Will Annoy Console Players
There is a big catch with Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition. You cannot play games with your friends online if you are using a console. This is a problem for games like Fallout 76 and Among Us, which are meant to be played with other people.
On PC you can still play games with your friends online.. If you are using a console you are out of luck. This is a limitation and it might make some players unhappy.
The Game List
with the limitations the games you get with Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition are really good. There are some games and some great independent games.
The list of games includes:
- Among Us
- ASTRONEER
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Celestial
- Chivalry 2
- Cities: Skylines Remastered
- Control Ultimate Edition
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
- DayZ
- Dead Cells
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Descenders
- Dishonored 2
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- DOOM 64
- DOOM Eternal
- Fable Anniversary
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
- Firewatch
- Gang Beasts
- Gears 5
- Golf With Your Friends
- Grounded
- Hades
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo Wars 2
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Human: Fall Flat
- INSIDE
- LIMBO
- Medieval Dynasty
- Monster Sanctuary
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Overcooked 2
- PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition
- PowerWash Simulator
- Psychonauts
- Psychonauts 2
- Slay the Spire
- SnowRunner
- Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
- Stardew Valley
- State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
- Stellaris
- SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete
- Superliminal
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Totally Reliable Delivery Service
- TUNIC
- Unpacking
- Vampire Survivors
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- World War Z: Aftermath
- Wreckfest
Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition has some games like Hades, Stardew Valley and Psychonauts 2. These are not games. They are really good. People will want to play them.
What Microsoft Is Actually Trying to Do
Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition seems like a way to get players to try Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft wants to get players in cheaply and then get them to upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate when they want to play games or get more games.
This is not a plan. Other companies do the thing with their subscription services. The question is, will players be okay with not being able to play games on their consoles?
We do not know how much Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition will cost or when it will be available. Until Microsoft says something we have to take all of this as a rumor.
It is worth keeping an eye on.
I’m passionate about books and video games. These two great passions represent, for me, a boundless universe where I can “escape” from reality whenever I need or want to. There are so many stories, worlds, and landscapes where I can instantly teleport that I don’t think a whole lifetime would be enough to explore them all (though it would be my greatest dream to be able to).
