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Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition: Over 50 Games, Cloud Limit, and No Multiplayer Access

White Xbox logo centered on a green background. Simple and iconic design with no additional text or elements.

Xbox is getting a new Game Pass subscription tier called the Starter Edition, and details about its game library and features have now leaked online.


Data miner Billbil-kun has revealed what appears to be the full launch lineup for the upcoming tier, alongside key details about what it will and will not offer.


This comes at a time when Xbox, under new CEO Asha Sharma, is going through one of its most significant rebrands in years.


What Is the Game Pass Starter Edition?

The Starter Edition is designed as an entry-level subscription. It sits below the existing Game Pass Essential and Ultimate tiers in terms of features. Here is what the package includes:

  • Over 50 games playable on PC, console, and compatible devices

  • Xbox Cloud Gaming access limited to 10 hours per month

  • In-game perks and Xbox Rewards points

  • Available across PC, console, and other supported devices


With this, the Starter Edition will be the only Game Pass subscription tier, excluding PC Game Pass, that does not include console multiplayer access.


The Full Game List

As per Billbil-kun, the Starter Edition game lineup at launch is expected to include the following titles:

  • Among Us

  • ASTRONEER

  • Batman: Arkham Knight

  • Celestial

  • Chivalry 2

  • Cities: Skylines Remastered

  • Control (including 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 (including GOTY Edition)

  • 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 (Windows 10)

  • Psychonauts 2

  • Retro Classics

  • 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: Standard Edition

  • Totally Reliable Delivery Service

  • TUNIC

  • Unpacking

  • Vampire Survivors

  • Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2

  • World War Z (including World War Z: Aftermath)

  • Wreckfest


The story actually started with a discovery in Xbox Cloud Gaming code by a user named redphx on X. That initial find opened the door to further investigation. Then, as spotted by The Verge, another X account called DiscordPreviews shared what appears to be a promotional poster from a future version of Discord. The poster clearly indicated that the Starter Edition would be bundled with a Discord Nitro subscription, currently priced at around 9.99 euros per month.


This lines up with something Xbox CEO Asha Sharma had already teased publicly, a collaboration between Xbox and Discord.


When Is It Launching?

No official launch date has been confirmed yet. Billbil-kun estimates the Starter Edition could arrive by mid-May 2026 at the latest.


The Bigger Xbox Picture

This leak does not exist in a vacuum. Xbox has had a packed few days. On April 21, Game Pass Ultimate saw a notable price cut, dropping from $ 29.99 to $ 22.99 per month. PC Game Pass also dropped from $ 16.49 to $ 13.99. The catch was that future Call of Duty titles would no longer be available day one on Ultimate.


Just two days later, on April 23, Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty sent out a company-wide memo titled "We Are Xbox". In it, they announced the official retirement of the "Microsoft Gaming" name, bringing back the "Xbox identity." Sharma's words in the memo were direct: "Microsoft Gaming describes our structure, but it does not describe our ambition. We are Xbox."


The memo also outlined four key priorities going forward:

  • Hardware: Stabilize current-gen (Series X|S), deliver Project Helix (next-gen hardware that leads in performance), better accessories, more choice.

  • Content: Grow franchises, strong 3rd-party deals, expand to China/mobile/emerging markets, support live games + creators (Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, etc.).

  • Experience: Fix console features, discovery, social, personalization; make it better for devs/creators.

  • Services: Strengthen Game Pass with "clear differentiation and sustainable economics," cloud improvements, deliberate M&A. 


“Along the way, we will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI, and share more as we learn and decide,” say both execs in a memo.

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