Xbox allows certain users to preview Game Pass family plan

An image of the Xbox Series X.
Credit: Xbox/Microsoft.

An image of the Xbox Series X.
Credit: Xbox/Microsoft.

Playing games with your family can often be a lot of fun, assuming that none of you suffer from the kind of rage that that often plagues the most hardcore streamers.

For those who like to make their gaming a multi-person affair, a new version of Game Pass being trialled by Xbox might be worth investing in once it’s available beyond the trial regions of Colombia and Ireland.

Originally reported by Windows Central’s Jez Corden, this alternative Game Pass will make it easier to play with friends or family members.

Ready to share a Game Pass with your family or friends?

As described in a post on the Xbox Wire, the new plan is designed to deliver “more choice and value” to players picking up Game Pass, with it allowing up to four people who live in the same country to be added to the same subscription.

Apparently, this makes playing together for those included in the same plan a lot easier on both console and PC, though, don’t worry about having to play everything in a group, as the individual members will seemingly still retain their own separate game libraries.

For those eligible to participate in the preview, purchasing the Game Pass plan labelled ‘Insider Preview’ from the Microsoft store should get you in, converting any remaining time on your old membership to time in the new plan.

This may produce different results depending on which tier you were previously on, with Xbox saying: “for example, a full month of Ultimate will be converted to 18 days of membership for this plan.”

Make sure you’re definitely certain that you want to give the new plan a go before buying though, as conversions are final and you’ll have to wait for the trial plan to expire before being able to return to a different one.

This isn’t the case for those invited to join a Game Pass group, with cancelling or waiting for any existing plan to expire being the step required to get these folks in, while those without a Microsoft account will have to set one up prior to joining.

Also, if you’ve currently got Xbox All Access, you won’t be able to get involved in the preview, so sorry about that.

There are also a few known issues that you might encounter while setting all of this up, so make sure to check the Xbox Wire post and or contact the company’s official help channels if you run into problems.

So, follow the necessary steps if you can or start picking out what you want to play with your family and make sure to follow us for more Xbox coverage.