That plan is currently being tested in select countries, and in Ireland runs €21.99/month. Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal is key to the company’s mobile gaming efforts. Microsoft has also been working on a Friends and Family plan that would reduce the cost of Game Pass for many. In November, it was revealed that Xbox Game Pass could have as many as 29 million subscribers, as Sony mentioned during the investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

It’s certainly a shame to see Microsoft pull the plug on the $1 Xbox Game Pass trial, but the company’s reasoning isn’t all that hard to decipher. We have stopped our previous introductory offer for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass and are evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future. Kari Perez, head of global communications at Xbox, said:

Microsoft teases new offers coming in the future. New subscribers now have no trial offer at all, and need to commit to the $14.99 monthly rate to try Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with cloud gaming, or Game Pass on PC or console for $9.99. Microsoft confirmed to The Verge that is has ended its “introductory offer” for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. For quite some time now Microsoft has offered a $1 trial for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which granted new players access to the full library, including cloud gaming, for a fraction of the usual price.

Xbox game pass $1 deal