Xbox Game Pass for PC exits beta next week, and the price is going up

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Xbox Game Pass for PC has been bizarrely cheap since it launched into beta last year: an initial $1 trial month rolled into a $5 per month subscription, which was more than worth it for a library of over 100 games. But all good things must come to an end, and starting next week, Xbox Game Pass for PC will exit beta and its monthly price will double.

It's not unexpected: the $5 per month was always a limited offer and the usual $10 a month (AU$10.95) is about what you'd expect to pay for a subscription service. For reference, in the US Netflix Standard is $13, and Spotify is $10.

According to an official tweet, the service will enter 'General Availability,' which seems to suggest that it'll be available in more regions, though at the time of writing these regions aren't specified anywhere. Meanwhile, if you already have a subscription and your billing day is approaching, you'll still pay the introductory rate.

The price increase coincides with (but is probably not related to) the addition of EA Play to Xbox Game Pass for PC. That means the service automatically includes whatever is in EA's vault: stuff like The Sims, Mass Effect, Battlefield and more. It's part of Microsoft's big next-gen Xbox info blow out this week, which has seen an official price and release date for its flagship Xbox Series X console.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.