For quite a while now, we had been hearing various leaks and rumours pertaining to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, with insiders claiming that the console maker is planning to offer some form of ad-supported game streaming tier. Though yet to be officially announced, Microsoft has now unveiled that it is testing “an ad-supported way to stream select games from your library for a limited time.”

Taking to the Xbox Wire blog to make the announcement, ‘Team XBOX’ officially unveiled their first test for this long-rumoured ad-supported game streaming tier, writing:

“Today, we’re starting to test an ad-supported way to stream select games from your library for a limited time, available to XBOX Insiders. During this test period, XBOX Insiders with an XBOX account will be able to stream games they own for free with ads. Players will have one hour session limits across supported devices and regions.”

Speaking on their mentality behind this decision, Microsoft continued, “Advertising has existed in gaming for decades, from in-game placements to free-to-play models. But it hasn’t always been built with the player in mind. When done well, advertising can help lower the cost of access. It creates another way for players to get into games without an upfront streaming purchase and expands audiences through new ways to play. For brands, this only works if showing up here adds to the experience, not takes away from it.”

Seemingly built as an alternative to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft promises that ads will only appear ‘before’ the session itself begins, meaning players shouldn’t encounter any distractions mid-game. That said, with the 1 hour time limit currently in place, sessions will wind up being interrupted regardless.

Of course, cloud streaming isn’t free for Microsoft, and so it seems they believe having an ad-supported version could bring in additional revenue in its own right, while also hopefully drawing players into the full fat Game Pass experience.

As with other insider programs, Microsoft will be monitoring feedback, and so it will be interesting to see what the final form of this ‘Ad-supported Game Streaming Test’ winds up looking like.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest announcement? Does it entice you in any way? Would you rather stream your games using remote play without ads, or cloud streaming with ads? Let us know down below.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is among the few third-party Xbox Series X|S exclusive releases, which wasn't too surprising, considering the quality of the latest entry in the series and how unique the franchise generally is. What is surprising to learn, on the other hand, is how the exclusivity deal with Microsoft was reportedly decided. In a recent interview with OLDboi, GSC Game World founder Serhiy Hryhorovych revealed that Microsoft agreed to fund the game's console exclusivity primarily because of the overwhelming view count on one of the game's YouTube trailers. "We put out a STALKER 2 video, and when […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/stalker-2-xbox-exclusivity-sealed-views-stunned-microsoft/

A couple of months ago, Microsoft launched Game Pass Starter Edition, an even cheaper version of the Game Pass service intended to be bundled with other subscription services. Game Pass Starter Edition first became a free add-on for Discord Nitro subscribers but now, it is also being made available to Meta Quest VR players too. 

Meta Quest headset owners with an active subscription to Meta Horizon+ will now also get access to Game Pass Starter Edition at no extra cost. Meta Horizon+ is the VR platform's equivalent to PlayStation Plus, offering a couple of free VR games to claim each month.

You won't be able to install Game Pass titles directly to your Quest headset, but you will be able to play them on the device through Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is limited to a 10-hour time cap per month on Game Pass Starter Edition. You'll need a PC or an Xbox to access native installs of the available games, making the inclusion of Game Pass Starter Edition on the Meta VR platform a bit odd.

Game Pass Starter Edition includes access to 50 titles, including the likes of Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Grounded, Deep Rock Galactic, Among Us, DOOM Eternal, Vampire Survivors and more.

KitGuru Says: Microsoft looks keen to add Game Pass Starter Edition to any subscription service that will take it on. While the starter edition has its limitations, a standard Game Pass subscription gets you access to a lot more titles. If you have the PC specific version, you get an even better deal, as it includes day-one access to games, while console players need to pay for Game Pass Ultimate to get that benefit. 

Microsoft has revealed the next wave of titles for Xbox Game Pass. For starters, Hell is Us is joining the service this week after a year on the market, offering a very non-linear post-apocalyptic adventure that will test your wits and combat skill. The big headliner though is of course Halo: Campaign Evolved, a complete remake of the original Halo campaign with some added content.

Halo: Campaign Evolved marks a major change for the series, being the first to run completely on Unreal Engine 5. Graphically, the game looks great, but we will have to play it for ourselves to see if the classic feel of the Halo shooters translates over well in the new engine.

Here is the full list of titles joining Game Pass over the next couple of weeks along with supported platforms and dates:

• Shift at Midnight (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 22
• Hell is Us (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 23
• Halo: Campaign Evolved (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC) – July 28
• Mistfall Hunter (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 30
• Corsair Cove (PC) – July 31
• Heretic + Hexen (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC) – August 4
• Beast of Reincarnation (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, PC) – August 4

As usual, there will be a handful of games leaving the Game Pass library this month. Starting from July 31st, the following games will no longer be available:

• Back to the Dawn (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Celeste (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Crusader Kings 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Rain World (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sniper Elite Resistance (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Whiskerwood (PC)

KitGuru Says: Are you planning on installing any of the new Game Pass titles? Hell is Us has been on my radar for a while now so I'm looking forward to trying it. 

Following the mass Xbox layoffs (3,200 employees to be cut by July 2027, not to mention all the codev partners and vendors), developers and analysts started looking into what happened for the division to reach such a low point, and the failure of Game Pass came up in most conversations, especially when a new report revealed that the subscriber base actually decreased from 34 to 30 million. Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler, for instance, opined that they never delivered the big hits a subscription service would need. Anyway, the big question mark now is pertaining to the future of Game […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-studio-leaders-detest-game-pass-schreier/

Last week, Microsoft officially unveiled its upcoming Xbox Game Pass line-up for the month of July, confirming a number of titles including the likes of Gears of War: Reloaded, Quarantine Zone: The Last Check and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. In an odd twist however, Microsoft has now come out to reveal that the Xbox-owned THPS 1+2 will no longer be joining Game Pass this month.

Taking to the Xbox Wire blog to offer an update on the previously-announced line-up, Microsoft amended their upcoming list of Game Pass inclusions, stating: “We’ve removed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 from the list of titles coming soon to Game Pass.”

Unfortunately, we did not get any further details, and so it is unknown exactly why Pro Skater 1+2 is no longer joining.

Ever since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for just under $69 Billion, the console maker obtained an influx of IPs, including Call of Duty; Crash Bandicoot; Spyro the Dragon and of course, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Given this, it is unlikely that its removal has anything to do with licensing and ownership issues, and so the reason remains unclear.

Either way, this is not the best of looks for Microsoft / Game Pass, especially considering everything else going on at the company right now. Hopefully the game does wind up being added eventually.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this sudden change? Could it have something to do with in-game music? What other reason could there be for Microsoft to backtrack like this? Let us know down below.

Following the umpteenth destructive wave of layoffs at Xbox, which this time also led to four (possibly five) studio divestitures and thousands more job cuts at historic studios like Bethesda, Obsidian, and id, it has become abundantly clear that the whole strategy centered on Game Pass was flawed. Xbox head Phil Spencer, with the blessing of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, explicitly sought to replicate Netflix's subscription service boom in gaming. However, the reality is that the two forms of entertainment couldn't be more different: games are generally much longer than TV series, for starters. Moreover, unlike TV shows or movies, they […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-netflix-playbook-game-pass-reverse/

In amongst a plethora of bad news pertaining to Microsoft and its cutting of over 3000 Xbox employees (while parting ways with 5 of its studios), the console maker is continuing to truck along with business as usual. As part of this, Microsoft has now officially detailed all of the titles “coming soon” to Xbox Game Pass.

Taking to their Xbox Wire blog to make the announcement, Microsoft unveiled the line-up of Xbox Game Pass titles set to drop onto the service between now and the 3rd week of July:

• Gears of War: Reloaded – 9th July
• Tamashika – 9th July
• Ascend to Zero – 13th July
• PBA Pro Bowling 2026 – 14th July
• Quarantine Zone: The Last Check – 15th July
• Mavrix by Matt Jones – 16th July
• FixForce – 17th July
• Fogpiercer – 17th July
• The Planet Crafter – 21st July
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 – 21st July

Full details on the line-up (including which tiers are getting what) can be found HERE. Overall however, July looks to be one of Game Pass’ weaker offerings.

Unfortunately, the announcement of new Game Pass titles also comes alongside its own downsides, with the following set to depart from the service on the 15th of July:

• Dungeons of Hinterberg
• EA Sports Football Club 24
• Stellaris
• Golf With Your Friends
• Minami Lane
• Powerwash Simulator
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
• Splitgate: Arena Reloaded
• Super Fantasy Kingdom
• Techtonica

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KitGuru says: What do you think of July’s offerings? Is more being gained than lost? What games do you think will be included in July’s second drop? Let us know down below.

Back during the early days of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft had expressed its hopes for the game subscription service to grow into a major player across all of entertainment, wanting the platform to one day reach as many as 100 million subscribers. In the years since, not only has the industry changed in many ways, but so too has Game Pass itself. Even so, it appears as though the service is struggling to break past its ceiling – with Game Pass reportedly still stuck at around 30 million subscribers.

In a report by The Wall Street Journal (paywalled) discussing Microsoft’s recent Xbox shake-ups, the publication revealed that the console maker had “projected Game Pass subscriptions would reach around 77 million this year”. Unfortunately for Xbox, they are far from reaching this goal, with the publication reporting that Game Pass “currently has about 30 million, a person familiar with the matter said.”

For some context, Microsoft announced back in early 2022 that Game Pass had reached 25 million subscribers. Two years later, the company revealed that the figure had jumped to 34 million subscribers.

While initially seen as a solid amount of growth, this increase came in the wake of Microsoft’s Game Pass overhaul – in which previous Xbox Live Gold members were transitioned over to Game Pass.

Since then, Microsoft made further changes to Game Pass: Hiked up its price massively (losing millions of subscribers in the meantime); added Call of Duty; removed Call of Duty and brought prices back down slightly.

While it is safe to assume that Xbox will likely never reach its 100 million Game Pass subscriber maker, CEO Asha Sharma has recently expressed even more ambitious goals – wanting Xbox to one day have over 1 Billion daily active users. We will have to wait and see whether either of these pipe-dreams come true.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Game Pass in 2026? Has it run its course? Will the service ever grow to 100 million subscribers? Let us know down below.

Following weeks of leaks, rumours and speculation, Microsoft finally confirmed that they will be making some big changes at Xbox, including the cutting of thousands of employees, parting ways with up-to 5 different studios and more. One aspect of the company which appears to not be changing however is Game Pass, with sources claiming that Microsoft will “still sign new deals.”

As reported by Stephen Totilo of Game File, in amongst the many changes set to take place at Xbox over the coming months, one strategy which appears to be staying mostly the same is Game Pass and their next-gen Project Helix console, with Totilo stating:

“Microsoft is still planning to release the Project Helix console, still planning to operate Game Pass—a nearly $5 billion a year recurring revenue business, for which it’ll still sign new deals, the source privy to Microsoft’s plans told Game File.”

Of course, Game Pass has been one of Xbox’s more contentious efforts, with the game subscription service going from being viewed as the best deal in gaming to being perceived as one of the core pillars behind Xbox’s current flailing state.

That’s not to say that Game Pass hasn’t seen any alterations, with the company recently confirming that new Call of Duty entries will no longer be day-and-date on the service.

Either way, we are currently in a major and pivotal moment for Xbox, and so it will be interesting to see how the company evolves from here on.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Microsoft’s latest announcement? Should Game Pass be revised? Will removing Call of Duty do enough to win people back? Let us know down below.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is now being promoted with a surprising tagline – “NOT ON XBOX GAME PASS”. Infinity Ward has begun using this phrase in early marketing materials for the game, directly highlighting the fact that the next Call of Duty title will not launch on Microsoft’s subscription service.

Microsoft recently determined that launching new Call of Duty titles on Game Pass was financially damaging, to the point where it has quickly given up on using Call of Duty as a pillar franchise for the subscription service. Starting this year, new COD titles will no longer be available day-one on Game Pass. Previous estimates claimed Microsoft lost as much as $300M launching COD on Game Pass, as the number of new subscriptions did not offset the number of lost sales.  

Infinity Ward is now embracing that pivot as part of its marketing. As highlighted by VGC, promotional posters for Modern Warfare 4 have surfaced featuring the bold “NOT ON GAME PASS” message, an unusual move but one that reflects Microsoft’s new stance.

Modern Warfare 4 was officially revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month and will launch as a traditional retail release across platforms. Older Call of Duty titles will continue to arrive on Game Pass, but annual releases will now follow a purchase‑first model.

KitGuru Says: Marketing like this gives the impression that the developers weren't too pleased about having to support Game Pass either. Unfortunately for Microsoft, Call of Duty this year isn't suddenly guaranteed to make $300M extra, as Modern Warfare 4 will be releasing in pretty close proximity to GTA 6. 

Since taking over as Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma has begun a broad reset of the business, a shift that has included lowering Game Pass prices, introducing new ‘pay later’ financing options for hardware and cutting operating costs. Now, it appears investment in securing third‑party Game Pass partnerships may also be slowing.

According to Fernando Rizo of Kaboodle Games, Xbox has may have paused new third‑party Game Pass deals. Speaking on The Business of Video Games Podcast, hosted by Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani, Rizo said he has heard from multiple developers that ongoing negotiations were abruptly halted.

“I was at a trade show in Italy, had some nice lunches, some nice dinners with industry colleagues,” Rizo said. “Word on the street was that loads of people who were in the frame for Game Pass deals… nothing was inked yet, but the deals were in advanced discussions… Everybody got the rug pulled out from under them.”

Rizo came away from those conversations with the impression that new third-party game deals for Game Pass are “on pause”. Press outlets like VGC have contacted Microsoft for comment but so far, no statements have been shared.

Game Pass has historically relied on a mix of first‑party Microsoft releases and a steady flow of third‑party titles, including many indie games. For smaller studios, these deals have often been seen as a way to mitigate financial risk, offering guaranteed revenue rather than relying solely on market performance.

Rizo added that Kaboodle Games recently secured a Game Pass deal earlier this year, but he suspects it “might have been one of the last ones that they did” before the pause.

KitGuru Says: With Microsoft less willing to fund ‘risky' projects from its own studios nowadays, third-party Game Pass deals would be the primary way to ensure variety for the service moving forward. Even if there is a pause right now, I don't expect Microsoft to drop third-party Game Pass content deals entirely. 

When Asha Sharma stepped in as the new head of Xbox earlier this year, one of the very first things she did was partially undo a Game Pass price hike from 2025. Now we know why, as it is claimed that Microsoft lost ‘millions' of subscribers following the price hikes.

During a live interview at Summer Game Fest, as reported by GameSpot, Xbox's new chief strategy officer, Matthew Ball, confirmed that Game Pass lost “millions” of subscribers last year after the price hikes. The cost increases arrived in late 2025, when Phil Spencer was still the head of Xbox, while also making big changes to the different Game Pass tiers.

This will have no doubt spurred on the decision by Sharma to reduce Game Pass prices once again for the PC and Ultimate tier subscriptions. Presumably if they had lost subscribers, growth for those tiers had also flatlined with the price increase.

Of course, not everyone is happy about the existance of Game Pass as it is. The service has drawn plenty of criticism from people in the past, even former Xbox employees, due to the type of pressure it puts on internal studios. This week, Moon Studios head, Thomas Mahler, who shipped Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Ori and the Will of Wisps, on Game Pass, said that Game Pass creates a situation where it needs constant ‘smash hits' to remain relevant and maintain subscribers, which is near impossible to achieve.

He may have a point there, as despite sinking billions of dollars into acquiring studios, key investments like Bethesda and a myriad of smaller studios have all underperformed in recent years with newer games.

KitGuru Says: Were you one of the people that unsubscribed from Game Pass last year due to the price hikes?

The ongoing issues at Xbox, with several studios at risk of being shut down (chiefly Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, and Double Fine Productions) and more layoffs sadly rumored to be on the way, have inevitably become a topic of discussion among industry members, even publicly. Replying to Duke Nukem creator George Broussard, who had wondered "where did Game Pass come from?", Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler (Ori, No Rest for the Wicked) tweeted his theory that Game Pass is "a little like Communism" in that it does not give developers the incentive to "go the extra mile". Ultimately, he mused, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/game-pass-couldve-worked-xbox-big-hit-needed/

Xbox has announced the second batch of Xbox Game Pass games that'll be joining its subscription service for the rest of June 2026. This second batch is meaningfully smaller than the first, though it still has a couple of big-name franchises attached. Like EA Sports FC 26, which heads to the service fresh off its extra stint on PS Plus Essential, to keep the world's biggest football game in front of as many players during football's biggest event, the FIFA World Cup. The other notable headliner is Call of Duty: Vanguard, which feels like a soft launch for Xbox's reported […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-game-pass-june-2026-games-ea-sports-fc-26-call-of-duty-vanguard/

While the batch of titles in this month's first Game Pass library update was huge, the second wave is a bit smaller. With that said, it does include some big names, including Call of Duty, EA Sports FC and even the latest Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remake.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is the biggest addition here, meaning anyone with a Game Pass standard, PC or Ultimate membership can now download the game for themselves and access the full campaign and multiplayer features. While not as popular as Call of Duty: WWII, Vanguard was a good entry in the series, better than it gets credit for nowadays.

Here is the full list of games joining Game Pass over the next couple of weeks, including dates and platforms:

• Call of Duty: Vanguard — Cloud, Console, PC — June 17
• EA Sports FC 26 — Cloud, Console, PC — June 18
• Abyssus — Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC — June 25
• RV There Yet? — Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC — June 30
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — Cloud, Console, PC — July 2
• Winds of Arcana: Ruination — Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC — July 6

As usual, there will be a number of titles leaving Game Pass at the end of the month too, including:

• Mecha Break (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Payday 2 (Console)
• Rise of Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Slay the Spire (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Ultimate Chicken Horse (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Volcano Princess (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Unpacking (Cloud, Console, and PC)

KitGuru Says: Slay the Spire and Unpacking both leaving this month hurts a little. Game Pass has had a great library of indie games over the past year especially. 

It's a weird comparison AMD made, but here we are, back at the Windows vs Mac debate that nobody needed. AMD Taunts Apple's MacBook Neo Over Gaming, Boasting Ryzen Laptops Run 20 of 20 Titles While Mac Manages Only 5 Windows vs. macOS debate seems never-ending, but it's surprising when it comes from one of the major chip manufacturers. AMD suddenly woke up and posted new marketing material that advertised Ryzen capabilities while taking a jab at the cost-effective MacBook Neo. Instead of directly comparing operating systems, AMD compared its Ryzen-based laptops with a macOS-based device, which is somewhat like […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amd-says-macbook-neo-cant-run-all-your-games-while-ryzen-based-laptops-can/

Shortly before he was on his way out, one of the final decisions made by Phil Spencer and his regime at Xbox was to give Xbox Game Pass a massive 50% price hike. Users rushed to cancel their subscriptions so quickly and in such high droves in response that it crashed the cancel page on Xbox's website, so it's no surprise to hear the new strategy chief Matthew Ball admit that the company lost "millions" of subscribers due to the increase. This comes from Ball while speaking at The Game Business Live during Summer Game Fest 2026, first shared by […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-game-pass-lost-millions-subscribers-with-price-hike/

Ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase as part of Summer Game Fest 2026, the first batch of Xbox Game Pass games for June 2026 has been revealed, and so far its a wave of indie games to start the month with a heavy-hitting JRPG in Persona 5 Royal. 'So far' is the key phrase though, because it wouldn't be a surprise if there are some shadow-drop reveals set for the upcoming showcase. Of course, it's never a guarantee, but Xbox has made a habit of including shadow-drop releases in its showcases, with games players can download on the service immediately […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-game-pass-games-june-2026-revealed-ahead-of-xbox-games-showcase/