Less than a month ago, on February 28, Microsoft announced its new "Netflix for games" service called Xbox Game Pass. For a fee of $10 per month, gamers would have access to a catalog of 100 titles from Xbox 360 and Xbox One, even though only a subset of that catalog was initially available during the Xbox Game Pass Alpha Preview.
Unfortunately for those Xbox Insiders who are participating in the service"s Alpha Preview, Microsoft is going to end the test period much sooner than expected, on April 7. This info was shared with Insiders through the following message posted by the company in the Insider Hub:
“Thank you for participating in the Xbox Game Pass Alpha Preview. Your feedback has been invaluable and will make the service better for all gamers. We will be closing Preview on April 7 in order to make our final tweaks and updates. But don’t worry, we’re getting close to launch and Xbox Game Pass will be available for all gamers later this Spring.”
The good news is that Microsoft isn"t abandoning the new service, but rather preparing itself for a wider launch later this Spring. Also, even though the company hasn"t yet released the complete list of the 100 games that will be available in the Xbox Game Pass service, we already know that its Halo titles - and other hits from THQ, 2K, Codemasters , 505 Games, Deep Silver, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Capcom, Focus Home Interactive, Sega, SNK, Warner Bros. and Microsoft itself - will all be included in the list.
It"s not yet clear how the Xbox Game Pass and the Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will affect one another. Even though they differ on their offerings, the Game Pass will allow gamers to access blockbuster games not usually available through the monthly free Games with Gold. Until then, don"t forget to check out the latest free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers.
Source: MSPoweruser