For a number of years, Microsoft has worked to make its video game platform as accessible as possible for all users. The release of the Xbox Series X/S offered a lot of quality of life features that were unused on previous Xbox systems. There have also been a number of features and ideas that have been considered by Xbox, including for services like Xbox Game Pass.
The launch of the Xbox Series X/S introduced users to a wide variety of accessibility and organization options. For example, the Series X offers overlays on game icons that show which games are optimized for the Series X/S, or which games in the user's library are from Xbox Game Pass. However, it's clear that Xbox has much more ambitious ideas outside of just organization tools.
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, confirmed on Twitter that Xbox is considering a family plan for its Xbox Game Pass users. A family plan would essentially be a higher priced subscription that allows multiple people to use Xbox Game Pass at the same time. As it stands now, subscriptions only apply to individual users, so if more than one person wanted to use Xbox Game Pass they would need to purchase another subscription.
Family plans have already been introduced on popular streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, as well as music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. In a lot of ways, cloud gaming services are still a very new concept that is only now starting to take off with platforms like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, so a family plan through Xbox Game pass might be a logical next step.
Of all the video game streaming services currently available, Xbox Game Pass is one of the more popular ones, with a wide selection of titles for players to choose from. Given how many accessibility features Xbox has instated with regards to its console line, making its streaming service cheaper overall by not requiring everyone in a family to buy individually would make sense.
While it is nice to know that Phil Spencer and Xbox are considering something like this, it's impossible to know when it would ultimately get developed. Right now, it's best that Xbox Game Pass users take the news with a grain of salt. After all, Spencer also teased an idea for Xbox Game Pass to work on TV without the use of a console in late October.