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Official: Introducing Xbox Game Pass Core, Coming This September

Draugoth

Gold Member


GamePassCore-Grey-Logo-29ec9c6e6367df1bf5b3.jpg






Today, we’re continuing our commitment to give players more choice and value by introducing Xbox Game Pass Core, launching on September 14. Game Pass Core is the evolution of Xbox Live Gold. Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals, all for $9.99 USD per month or $59.99 USD per year.

For over twenty years, Xbox players have been connecting via Xbox Live to compete, cooperate, and experience the world’s biggest online multiplayer games. In 2017, we introduced Xbox Game Pass which provided a curated library of games. Game Pass Core brings online play together with Game Pass in a new offering for gamers around the world.

With this evolution, we’re saying farewell to Games with Gold. We wanted to use this opportunity to re-imagine how to include content with this subscription. We found that the answer to the most compelling catalog was to leverage select titles from our Xbox Game Pass catalog.

Our launch collection of more than 25 titles from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and our content partners will offer something for everyone to play on their Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. Today we’re confirming the following titles for launch*, with more to be announced in advance of September 14. New titles will be added 2-3 times a year.

  • Among Us
  • Descenders
  • Dishonored 2
  • Doom Eternal
  • Fable Anniversary
  • Fallout 4
  • Fallout 76
  • Forza Horizon 4
  • Gears 5
  • Grounded
  • Halo 5: Guardians
  • Halo Wars 2
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Human Fall Flat
  • Inside
  • Ori & The Will of the Wisps
  • Psychonauts 2
  • State of Decay 2
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
*Game library may vary over time and by country.

Game Pass Core SKU Chart

For current Xbox Live Gold members:

  • On September 14, Xbox Live Gold members will automatically become Game Pass Core members, with no change in pricing, and have immediate access to a new library of over 25 high-quality games.
  • Member deals & discounts will also be part of Xbox Game Pass Core.
  • Games with Gold will come to an end on September 1.
  • Players can continue to access any Xbox One games they previously redeemed through Games with Gold if they remain a Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate member.
  • Regardless of subscription status, any Xbox 360 titles redeemed via Games with Gold in the past will be kept in a player’s library.
Thank you to everyone who has been with us since the early days, joined along the way with friends, and now with us in Xbox Game Pass. I’m proud and humbled by the stories we hear about online teammates becoming real-life friends after years playing, or even marriages whose initial spark was ignited in a pre-match lobby. We can’t wait to hear more from the community when it launches on September 14, and we’ll see you online!

 
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DaGwaphics

Member
I feel like having online included in Core but not the tier that costs $1 more is going to end up confusing people

wonder if they’ll bring it back to the website then since right now the only way to get it is to buy a card at a retailer

Maybe, but they might keep doing what they've been doing with that. Maybe it is designed as a perk for retailers since they are stocking a lot of XSS units that don't have a lot of upside for the retailers.

I can see where the console GP plan could confuse some people.

I always figured they would just role gold into the base package and maybe remove the day one additions from that plan like EA play (with the day one games becoming the primary exclusive feature of GPU). That would have bumped the price for online access up though, which maybe they were scared to do.
 
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Glad things are finally moving on, Games with Gold needed to be put out of its misery. Was a great program for many years, I used to look forward to the announcements, but it withered and died - became a laughing stock, and was a dinosaur in the Game Pass era.
 

Eotheod

Member
I feel like having online included in Core but not the tier that costs $1 more is going to end up confusing people

wonder if they’ll bring it back to the website then since right now the only way to get it is to buy a card at a retailer
Yeah it's a confusing one I must admit. Almost feels like they forgot to change the tier graphic to not include it.

I'm guessing the point is offering Console tier as your game pass singleplayer tier-only, and then ultimate is your online game pass access. Still, I thought online was included in any level of gamepass so maybe that's why? Maybe Microsoft forgot to include online multiplayer.
 

FrankWza

Member
This new tier replaces the Gold they attempted to price increase a while back but canceled after the uproar? I wonder if they attempt again once they've rebranded and other tiers get increases.
 

Luck

Member
I just wonder what about users that still using only Xbox 360 - will they still be able to buy subscription from the console? Are they going to update X360 firmware to change "gold" names? Or if it will not be available for x360 users then is it still be needed for thenLive multiplayer?
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
If they're launching this in September, there's no way they increase the price in just one month lol.

There really is no room for them to move the price up unless they really want the pricing chart to get convoluted. They just raised the price of console GP. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Sweet. Good deal. It’s the really the same Gold at the same price but with a better batch of games instead of those cruddy shit tier games they’d give away every month.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I don’t think GP has ever had an annual deal price. It’s always been monthly.

He means that now with this rebranded 'core', it still retains the 59.99/yr plan carried over from XBL.

The other tiers of GP don't have annual plans, I don't think that's gonna change.
 

octiny

Banned
So it's Xbox live rebranded and more expensive (monthly) 😂

At this point live should be included with game pass.

How is it more expensive?

It's $10 a month just like Gold or $60 annually, except w/ the added benefit of a better game collection vs Games w/ Gold.

Existing Gold users also get automatically converted, no extra clicks needed. Plus you keep all your previous GwG games along w/ the all the new ones from GPC.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
adamsapple adamsapple give it to me straight, is it now too late to do the Brazil/Turkey cheap gold, conversion trick? Even if it's no longer 1:1. My GP runs out in March and I'm debating whether to do the loophole again on a new account in August.
 

Fbh

Member
So it's basically XLG but instead of F tier bargain bin indies every month they have a small library of games that gets updated 2-3 times a year.

Seems decent I guess
 

Bridges

Member
Pretty great list of starting titles. I'll pour one out for GWG, I still remember in the late 360 era when it was introduced and we'd sometimes get good games, it was nice to have those all in my library when back compat was added. Every once in awhile there was a diamond in the rough in the XB1/XSX generations, but so few and far between.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
adamsapple adamsapple give it to me straight, is it now too late to do the Brazil/Turkey cheap gold, conversion trick? Even if it's no longer 1:1. My GP runs out in March and I'm debating whether to do the loophole again on a new account in August.

Yeah, this is a blank spot for me as well.

I'm gonna take a guess and say that they can't just null and void the millions of codes in circulation, so instead if you use a Gold code, it will be converted into Core upon redemption.

Gold to GPU conversion was already changed to 3 : 2 instead of 1 to 1, so you won't have been getting the full value like we did a few months ago anyway.

At this point, I would suggest keep to your sub that runs till March, don't make any purchases before September because I can't say 100% what they might do, so let's wait it out.
 
So basically just rebranded and improved quality of the games, now again competing with the counterpart Plus Essential. No idea why they did not do it much earlier, stopping all the negative marketing the Gold announcements triggered.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Don't be petty, I never called it crisis.

Crisis averted in general about a possible price hike, my tagging wasn't for calling anyone out (apologies if it felt that way), just the few prominent users I know who raised the point about the price increase in that rumor topic.

I've removed the tags from the post.
 
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oji-san

Banned
My only question is what will become after 14.9 with the 3 years of XBLG method to 2 years on GPU? They just recently changed it to only 2 years of GPU... Now what? If Gold users become Core users then getting 3 years of Gold will turn it to 3 years of Core?
 
Holy shit. This is fucking trash. And look, it's the company who paid almost $80 bi for two big publishers. I just can't lol.

Not even Forza Horizon 5... They could have simply removed GwG and forced the basic Gamepass plan to play online. It makes zero sense, $1 fucking dollar.
 
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