Last month, Microsoft began offering a preview of the PC Game Pass, its gaming subscription service on PC, in 40 new countries situated in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Now, a little over a month later, the company has officially launched the service in these countries thereby bringing the number of countries with the service to 86. The expansion is part of the company’s plan to grow its subscription service beyond the Xbox console.
Similar to the Xbox Game Pass, the PC Game Pass offers users access to first-party games such as Minecraft Legends, Forza, Starfield, and RedFall, among others, on their launch dates. The service also offers access to third-party titles the company has deals with as well as the EA Play library. For instance, in March, Capcom announced that its live-service multiplayer co-op shooter title, Exoprimal, will be available as a day one title on the Game Pass. Naturally, this access is only valid for the duration of the user’s subscription and will be revoked once said subscription expires.
In a video posted to the official Xbox YouTube channel, Xbox’s head honcho, Phil Spencer, welcomed users in the 40 new countries to the service. He reiterated Xbox’s mission to “bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet” and announced that, even though the service will provide access to EA Play, it will do so at no additional cost.
To those who registered for the PC Game Pass preview in March, Xbox is offering “two free months of PC Game Pass membership, with no further action needed” in appreciation of their help in testing and developing the service. Also, the company has a “special welcome offer” in store for new subscribers that will last through their first three months on the service. To register, gamers in these countries should head to www.xbox.com/pcgamepass. It is important to note that pricing will vary across regions and so will the catalogue.
Here are the 40 new countries where the PC Game Pass subscription service is now available:
- Albania
- Algeria
- Bahrain
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Georgia
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Iceland
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Qatar
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Tunisia
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
In other Xbox-related news, the Xbox Games Showcase slated for June 11 will take place over a 2-hour period, according to WalkingCat, a frequent and reliable Microsoft Store leaker. And while the PC Game Pass expansion will be considered a positive development by many gamers, they will be disappointed at Microsoft’s recent decision to end its Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass trial offer that provided access to the service for just $1.
