Xbox Game Pass Core: how much is Microsoft Xbox Gold replacement tier, games coming soon, price - release date

Microsoft has confirmed that Game Pass Core - a cheaper tier of its Game Pass subscription model that was revealed in a leak earlier this week - is indeed happening. And it replacing Xbox Live Gold as first thought.could be in the works

As Microsoft continues to reshuffle its Xbox Game Pass subscription model - the model that allows subscribers access to a library of over 100 downloadable games so long as they're signed up - it seems a new, cheaper tier could be in the works.

Rumours around a possible merger of Game Pass - which allows subscribers access to a library of over 100 downloadable games so long as they're signed up - and Gold have circulated for months, and the confirms what that eventual new model will look like.

But what exactly could the new tier offer, and how much will it cost? Perhaps most importantly, which games will it give players access to? Here is everything you need to know about it.

When is Xbox Game Pass Core expected to start?

Game Pass Gold will launch on Thursday 14 September 2023. Xbox Live Gold members will be automatically converted to Xbox Game Pass Core subscribers - since they're both the same price, see below - on this date at no extra cost.

How much will it cost?

The new Game Pass Core tier will be made available for the same current price as Xbox Live Gold. In the UK, Gold starts for as little as £6.99 a month, though net savings can be made by opting to pay for three months at a time for £17.99.

What features will it include?

Seeing as Xbox Game Pass Core is essentially a rebranding of Gold, it's expected it will come with many of the same features. So that includes online console multiplayer - allowing you to play games with or against your friends online - as well as member exclusive deals and discounts.

However, the Games with Gold offer - which gifted users two free Xbox games per month to keep as long as they were subscribed - is coming to an end on 1 September. That might not necessarily be a bad thing, with recent offerings through Games with Gold severely lacking in quality compared to some of its earlier offers.

You will still have access to your Games with Gold games in the future, but everything from the Xbox One/Series X/S eras will also require you to have a Game Pass subscription in order to play them.

The big change to Gold is of course that Core will feature a library of Xbox Game Pass games for users to download and play on their consoles for as long as their subscription is active.

Which games will be included?

Being a 'core' subscription tier, it's sensible to expect that not all the bells and whistles of more costly Game Pass subscriptions will be made available through Game Pass Core.

That seems to be extending to the games that will be on offer too, with Game Pass' strong library of titles diminished by quite some margin for those who opt to take the money-saving option.

For comparison's sake, the higher tiers of Xbox Game Pass boast 100+ games, including blockbuster, first-party Xbox games like upcoming space-faring RPG Starfield making their appearance on the service the day they are released worldwide.

But Xbox Game Pass Core looks to be offering only "25+" games, with some of the service's biggest titles absent from the reported list. For example, Forza Horizon 4 will be made available, but its more recent successor - Forza Horizon 5 - will not.

It's a similar situation for Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite. And probably means that should Call of Duty ever come to Game Pass, it also won't be included with Core. Shrinking the list slightly further, Microsoft has only confirmed 19 of the games that will be coming to the service

At the time of writing, these are the games that will be available through Xbox 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

MIcrosoft have confirmed that the list games on offer will be fluid, with new additions made two-to-three times a year as other titles are removed from the list.