Microsoft has announced it's bringing the Xbox Game Pass's PC offering to 40 new countries starting today. Over the years, the tech giant's subscription service has grown to be one of gaming's most popular services. Now, with PC Game Pass extending to a host of more countries, Xbox Game Pass looks to expand its popularity and user base even further.
Microsoft's gaming subscription service has come a long way since its inception in 2017. Although Microsoft failed to reach its annual Xbox Game Pass growth goals over the past couple of years, its broad appeal continues to be a popular choice among gamers, specifically when it comes to PC. With PC Game Pass growing as much as 159% year-on-year by October 2022, Xbox chief Phil Spencer stated that PC subscriber gains have been "incredible." Microsoft's latest PC Game Pass announcement indicates that the company may be doubling down on this very growing segment.
According to CVP of Gaming Marketing at Xbox Jerret West, a preview version of the PC Game Pass is now available in 40 new countries. Starting February 28, players can sign up for the service with the Xbox Insider Hub app where users will be offered a preview of PC Game Pass inclusive of a "special testing price" for the first month. As with the typical service offering, PC Game Pass will give subscribers access to hundreds of PC games which includes day-one Xbox Game Studios releases along with an EA Play membership on Xbox Game Pass.
The preview version of PC Game Pass will be newly accessible in the following countries:
- 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
This new expansion means PC Game Pass is technically available in 86 countries, while the company states that the service will extend to all players beyond its preview version in the coming months. The news comes a little after Microsoft announced that its Xbox Game Pass family plan expanded to six more countries. While time will tell what the tech giant has in store for its subscription service, its active expansion efforts may come as welcome news for those who were keen on jumping on Xbox Game Pass.
However, that's not to say the service isn't without its share of challenges. Xbox Game Pass has been a main talking point with regard to Microsoft's ongoing Activision acquisition case with regulators like the FTC and the UK's CMA. The regulators, as well as Xbox competitor Sony, have long argued that the purchase of Activision would give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the industry, especially with its Xbox Game Pass service. Of course, the company has been actively looking to convince the opposition that it isn't the case, most recently via Microsoft's partnership with Nvidia and Nintendo. Either way, the coming months are shaping up to be an interesting time both for its subscription service, particularly PC Game Pass, and Microsoft in general.
Source: Xbox