The £1 Xbox Game Pass trial has ended, with similar deals for $1 also no longer available worldwide.
One of the biggest incentives for signing up to Xbox Game Pass was that, for new subscribers, the first month only cost £1, or $1 if you’re in the US.
That way you could test out its services and play numerous Xbox games without committing to the full monthly fee straight away.
After years of use, Microsoft has decided to rescind the offer, without confirming any direct alternative to replace it.
At the time of writing, Microsoft has only publicly confirmed the deal has ended in the US, but it stands to reason that it’ll apply everywhere else as well.
In fact, if you search for available Xbox Game Pass subscriptions on Microsoft’s UK website, you’ll find no mention of a £1 trial period for new subscribers.
Polish site XGP reports that the same offer for customers in Poland has been removed as well, so there seems little doubt that the entire scheme has ended worldwide.
We have contacted Microsoft for further clarification and will update the story if they provide a statement.
In the meantime, Xbox’s head of global communications Kari Perez has confirmed the change but not provided a specific reason as to why the offer has been taken down.
‘We have stopped our previous introductory offer for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass and are evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future,’ is all she told The Verge.
We’ve known that Microsoft has been thinking of new ways to promote its Game Pass service for a while. It’s currently trialling a new friends and family scheme, that lets up to five people share a single subscription, although it’s not yet available in the UK or US.
An alleged survey from last year also suggested that Microsoft is considered making a much cheaper tier of Xbox Game Pass, with the main caveat being that it would contain advertisements.
At the same time, Xbox boss Phil Spencer had previously warned that subscription prices would increase soon, along with consoles and games, and this is likely a direct result of that.
Microsoft would likely never admit it, but the real reason for removing the £1/$1 trial is likely due to how Game Pass simply isn’t profitable for the company.
It’s missed its annual growth targets twice in a row and the company recently admitted that adding games to the service reduces their traditional sales, which is the exact opposite of what Spencer had previously been saying about Game Pass.
That said, Microsoft boasted of ‘new highs for Game Pass subscriptions’ back in January but refused to share any figures.
This also came amid reports of the company’s gaming revenues dropping by 13% over the Christmas period, which Microsoft blamed on a lack of Xbox exclusives.
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