It’s no secret that Microsoft’s Game Pass is one of its biggest money makers for subscriptions. Well, they’re trying to get you to entice your friends or family to subscribe now more than ever. To do this, Microsoft is introducing a feature that allows you to invite up to five friends for a free 14-day PC Game Pass trial. Sadly, it does look like this is exclusive to PC Game Pass, and they’ll have to have never had Game Pass before to redeem. What all comes with the trial? Let’s break down how to share and why you might want to below.
Invite your friends to play Game Pass games with you for free
If you already have Game Pass, then there’s likely a time when you’ve told a friend about a game you were playing only to find out they didn’t own it…and neither do you, because you have Game Pass. Well, if that friend is on the fence for whether or not Game Pass is worth spending $10 a month on for their PC, then you can now help them make the decision.
You can find the Friend Referral invitations on the Game Pass home screen in the Xbox app on Windows. Simply click “Give PC Game Pass” or invite the friend via the Xbox website. The free trial for your friend comes with all the benefits of PC Game Pass, including all the new titles from Xbox Game Studios on day one, an EA Play membership, and the ability to play all of the other games in the subscription. The only catch is your friend has to have never had Game Pass before, and it’s only good on PC.
Game Pass has a lot to offer, though, and if you’re trying to play a game with friends, like Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, or even preparing for the Starfield launch (please, Microsoft, don’t delay this any more…) then sharing the subscription will be a great way to enjoy a game with others. The shared trial allows your friend to have full PC Game Pass access for 14 days, which is enough time for you to finish several levels of a game and for them to browse and play through some of the catalog. At the end of the 14 days, they’ll have to either re-up the subscription to keep access, or lose the ability to play those games, and you won’t be able to share the subscription with them again.
9to5Toys’ Take
While this isn’t the Game Pass Friends & Family subscription, it’s a great way to help your friends give the service a try if they’ve been on the fence, and it doesn’t even cost you a dime. I think that’s the best part. You don’t have to pay anything to give up to five friends a 14-day trial of Game Pass.
There’s no real word on whether or not your five friends limit resets at any point, but I would assume (hope?) that it resets at least once per year? At least? At any rate, you’ll want to be somewhat choosy on who you send it to do that way you can make sure the friend gets the most use out of it possible before having to choose whether to subscribe or not.
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