Microsoft is ending support for its Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family plan. The plan, which was launched in preview in South Africa in February this year and in other regions in late 2022, will come to an end in August.
Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family didn’t technically launch as a public subscription. Instead, Microsoft was testing out the service across a handful of regions. Users in Ireland, Colombia, New Zealand, Sweden, Isreal, Chile, Hungary and South Africa were able to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family at a higher cost and invite up to four family members and friends to piggyback off the plan.
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The special membership cost R199 per month compared to the R119 at the time. Although we knew the service was a trial, we thought perhaps Microsoft would eventually roll it out worldwide. Instead, the company has now confirmed that it won’t make it out of preview.
In a statement to Eurogamer, Microsoft says that no new registrations will be offered to Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family. In addition, the service will close on 15 August meaning users won’t be able to take advantage of the family plan from that date.
Microsoft says that users who participated in the trial will receive Xbox Game Pass Ultimate codes as a “thank you for participating”. The company claims that both primary (the account holder) and secondary (the added friends and family members) will all receive codes. The codes will grant them access to the service for the remaining time they had on the Friends and Family package.
The support page for Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family currently has no indication of whether or not the service will launch worldwide. However, it does state that Microsoft will review what the company has learned over the past few months to investigate how to build an offer which suits worldwide audiences.
So never fear. By the look of things, the service may return in a global format soon. But there’s no guarantee yet. The news arrives after Xbox Live Gold is also expected to end in September.
Statement: Eurogamer
