Quick Summary
Xbox has started to test its new subscription tier with Insider programme members – Xbox Game Pass Standard.
The tier will have a game library, but while new titles won't be added on release, they will be added later.
Xbox has confirmed that it's rolling out a test period for the newest tier of Xbox Game Pass, as part of the fairly substantial reshuffle that it announced back at the start of July.
Xbox Game Pass Standard is the new tier, replacing Xbox Game Pass for Console, and it's going to effectively be a pared-back version of Game Pass Ultimate. The biggest loss to those who opt for the cheaper tier will be day one releases, though, which have always been part of Game Pass' appeal.
Instead, as a new blog post confirms, Game Pass Standard members will eventually get access to these "day one" titles, but without a hard and fast rule about when they'll arrive.
The post says this could take as long as 12 months, but also acknowledges that it might be a shorter or longer window than that depending on the game.
That leaves you in a bit of limbo if you, for example, want to play something like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Xbox Series X or Series S, which will arrive on 9 December for Game Pass Ultimate members.
For those on Xbox Game Pass Standard, it'll be a waiting game to find out when it'll make its way to the lower-tier library.
Regardless, this test should help Xbox to figure out how well the tier is working, and for those Insiders who get the option to sign up, it'll be very cheap. It's priced at just $1 a month for the duration of the test (with the final price of the tier currently pinned at $14.99 or £10.99).
We still don't know exactly when the Game Pass Standard plan will actually go live worldwide, but this test is doubtless part of the ramp-up toward that point.
If you're already on the now-discontinued Game Pass Core membership, you've got a little while yet to enjoy it – but don't let the subscription lapse, as you won't be able to select the plan again.
