Xbox Games with Gold ending, replaced by Game Pass Core
Launches September with catalogue of 25+ titles.
Microsoft has officially killed off its long-running Xbox Games with Gold offering, and lifted the lid on its replacement: Xbox Game Pass Core.
Xbox Game Pass Core will make its debut on 14th September, and is described by Microsoft as "the evolution of Xbox Live Gold".
For the same price of £7 / $10 a month (or £40 / $60 a year), Game Pass Core includes online gaming and a "select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world" that will grow over time.
"Game Pass Core brings online play together with Game Pass in a new offering for gamers around the world," Microsoft said.
This new offering from Xbox replaces Games with Gold. "We wanted to use this opportunity to re-imagine how to include content with this subscription. We found that the answer to the most compelling catalogue was to leverage select titles from our Xbox Game Pass catalogue," Microsoft explained.
Game Pass Core will launch with multiple titles from Xbox studios included. More games will be released onto the service following its launch, "two to three times a year".
Anyone who is already a member on Xbox Live Gold will automatically become a Game Pass Core member on 14th September, with no change in pricing. In the UK, Games with Gold is currently £7 a month.
Meanwhile, Games with Gold will come to a close on 1st September. Users will be able to access any Xbox One games redeemed through this service providing they remain a Game Pass member.
As for Xbox 360 titles, Microsoft has said any games previously redeemed via Games with Gold will remain in a player's library, "regardless of subscription status".
The following games have currently been announced to be coming to Game Pass Core:
- Among Us
- Descenders
- Dishonored 2
- Doom Eternal
- Fable Anniversary
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
- Forza Horizon 4
- Gears 5
- Grounded
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo Wars 2
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Human Fall Flat
- Inside
- Ori & The Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
"Thank you to everyone who has been with us since the early days, joined along the way with friends, and now with us in Xbox Game Pass," Microsoft's Jerret West said on this announcement.
"I'm proud and humbled by the stories we hear about online teammates becoming real-life friends after years playing, or even marriages whose initial spark was ignited in a pre-match lobby. We can’t wait to hear more from the community when it launches on 14th September, and we'll see you online!"