Xbox Game Pass $1 trial no longer being offered

For the last few years, it’s been the best deal in gaming: one month of Game Pass for one dollar. Microsoft’s trial offer for the first month of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription was a great introduction to the service as well as being a great way to sample — or, given a whole month, play the entirety of — new releases for just a buck.

However, it’s no longer. According to The Verge Microsoft decided not to continue the offering.

“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,” Xbox head of global communications Kari Perez told The Verge in a statement.

A free 7-day trial is a standard part of subscriptions. However, what made Game Pass so attractive was the fact that it extended for one month. Players could try several games, or completely immerse themselves into one game.

Why Microsoft has decided to bring it to a close is anyone’s guess; perhaps, with the service having grown to 25 million subscribers by Microsoft’s latest reckoning (in January 2022), it’s not attracting new members fast enough any more.

The Xbox Game Pass trial offer was launched in June 2017. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles an Xbox Live Gold membership with access to Game Pass’ console and PC libraries for a $14.99 monthly fee, was introduced in 2019.