The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family arrives, how much this advantageous subscription costs

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Microsoft puts an end to sharing the Xbox Game Pass with friends and family

The Xbox Game Pass Amis & Famille program, in testing in a few countries since summer 2022, will end. Microsoft may be back later, but the current objective seems to sell the Game Pass Ultimate at 14.99 euros per month.

In August 2022, the arrival of an Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family formula was particularly well received by the players. If it was not yet available in France, this offer should ultimately allow a subscriber to pay a little more to be able to share her account with 4 people. Xbox players won financially, Microsoft increased its number of users, touching people who probably would not have paid otherwise. A winning winning deal.

On its website, Microsoft announces the end of the Friends & Family program on August 15, without ever launching it in France. In a press release sent to The Verge, the brand specifies that “The Friends and Family program will end on August 15 in all participating countries (Ireland, Colombia, New Zealand, Sweden, Israel, Chile, Hungary and South Africa). We no longer accept new registrations and the additions of new members to existing plans will no longer be accepted after July 17. »»

Eternal regrets

A few days before, Microsoft had announced a price increase in its Game Pass subscription. The basic formula had increased from € 9.99 to € 10.99 per month, while the Ultimate option now costs € 14.99, instead of € 12.99. This bad news correlated with the abandonment of the Friends & Family program is unfortunate, since we could have hoped that the launch of the formula for 5 people will better spread its payments. Microsoft seems to promote a model where everyone pays 10.99 or 14.99 euros, which will be more beneficial for him.

Like Netflix, which made a lot of noise by putting an end to account sharing, Microsoft no longer seems to think that account sharing is viable.

Since hope supports, we can still hope that the end of this “Preview” program is followed by the launch of a world family program soon, but this hypothesis seems unlikely.

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The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family arrives, how much this advantageous subscription costs ?

After having launched it in Ireland and Colombia, Microsoft begins to deploy the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family in six new countries. This formula, which allows you to share your subscription with four other players, should thus arrive in France soon.

In September 2022, Microsoft launched the Formula Friends & Family for its Xbox Game Pass. This offer allows you to divide the addition into five to take advantage of the video game service at a lower cost. First, only Ireland and Colombia had the privilege of taking advantage of it. Now, Microsoft offers this advantageous package in six other countries, namely Chile, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden.

Thanks to this offer, the five members can benefit from the advantages of the Game Pass Ultimate and its renewed catalog each month. Everyone has their personal access to games and everyone can play it simultaneously. It is only possible to share the subscription with people living in the same country as you.

The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family should cost € 21.99/month in France

But what about prices ? When it came out, the Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family cost 21.99 euros per month in Ireland. The same price as in the freshly eligible European markets. As a reminder, the subscription to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs 12.99 euros per month. Pay 21.99 euros for the family formula is already slightly more affordable than paying two accounts separately. And the invoice will only be reduced as new players will be integrated into the loop.

We can estimate that the price practiced in France will be more or less identical. However, it remains to be seen when the formula will burst into our regions. When she has just been released in new European countries, her arrival in France should no longer be long.

Note that Microsoft takes the money monthly only from the main account holder. If he wishes to share the costs, he must therefore arrange with his relatives by passing for example by a third-party application like Lydia.

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