It will probably replace one of the tiers that is currently available in Microsoft‘s subscription service.
Some information has leaked about a new, cheaper package called Xbox Game Pass Starter. Beyond the lineup itself, we also now have a rough idea of when it could become available to players. The information comes from Billbil-kun, a source with a very strong track record in this area. The package seems to be built very similarly to the current Game Pass Essential tier, with a few differences. It would reportedly place a monthly cap on Cloud Gaming hours and bundle in a Discord Nitro subscription, while other elements, such as the library of more than 50 games, would remain unchanged.
The Starter Edition would not include access to online multiplayer, however, meaning the multiplayer portions of paid console games would be unavailable. According to Billbil-kun, there are a few differences compared to Essential, although some of those changes may simply come from the fact that parts of Essential are not updated publicly. It is also possible that the final offering really will include a slightly different mix of titles. That would make sense, since Goat Simulator is missing from the Starter list and is also leaving the Essential bundle next week. So the smaller discrepancies may only reflect what is public right now and what is not, with the lists potentially lining up once Starter officially launches. Billbil-kun says it should arrive by mid-May at the latest, which would allow Asha Sharma to continue the rapid wave of Xbox changes happening in a short period of time.
Here is the leaked game list: Among Us, Astroneer, Batman: Arkham Knight, Celeste, Chivalry 2, Cities: Skylines – Remastered plus Cities: Skylines – Windows 10 Edition and Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition, Control plus Control Ultimate Edition, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, DayZ, Dead Cells, Deep Rock Galactic, Descenders, Dishonored 2, Disney Dreamlight Valley, DOOM 64, DOOM Eternal, Fable Anniversary, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Firewatch, Gang Beasts, Gears 5 plus GOTY Edition, Golf With Your Friends, Grounded, Hades, Halo 5: Guardians, Halo Wars 2, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Human Fall Flat, Inside, Limbo, Medieval Dynasty, Monster Sanctuary, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Overcooked! 2, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition, PowerWash Simulator, Psychonauts (Windows 10), Psychonauts 2, Retro Classics, Slay The Spire, SnowRunner, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, Stardew Valley, State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition, Stellaris, Superhot: Mind Control Delete, Superliminal, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, The Elder Scrolls Online: Standard Edition, Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Tunic, Unpacking, Vampire Survivors, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, World War Z plus World War Z: Aftermath, and Wreckfest.
It will be interesting to see what the Starter plan actually looks like once it is officially announced, and whether it ends up acting as a full replacement for Essential or as a genuinely new tier that also reshapes what Essential and Premium offer. The lack of online multiplayer suggests it may not be a direct one-for-one replacement, but Game Pass clearly looks set for another round of changes, so for now it is hard to say where Starter will ultimately land.
