The new Xbox Game Pass tier, Game Pass Standard, is officially available beginning today, August 20, but only for testers. The Standard membership includes “hundreds” of games for $15/month with some key differences between Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate, including how Microsoft’s new releases won’t come to Game Pass Standard for some time.
For now, Xbox Insider testers can sign up for $1, and the price will renew at that amount until Game Pass Standard officially launches in September at $15/month.
Game Pass Standard is Microsoft’s attempt to “give players more choice” when it comes to a subscription offering, the company said. As announced previously, Standard comes with all the benefits of Game Pass Core, including online multiplayer and a selection of games. One of the big distinctions is the Game Pass Standard library is substantially larger than Game Pass Core, which has 40+ games.
Game Pass Standard does not, however, include what is perhaps the best part of Game Pass Ultimate–day-one new releases from Microsoft. For people who want to play Black Ops 6 at launch via Game Pass, Microsoft advised them to consider Game Pass Ultimate.
Microsoft’s games that come to Game Pass Ultimate at launch will not come to Game Pass Standard right away–this could be “up to 12 months or more and will vary by title,” Microsoft said.
Anyone can sign up for the free Xbox Insider program to try Game Pass Standard. For more on the various Game Pass tiers, be sure to check out GameSpot’s detailed Game Pass explainer.