Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition Expands to More Players

The Starter Edition of Xbox Game Pass has expanded to more players through a new partnership that bundles it with eligible Meta Horizon+ memberships. Xbox Game Pass has recently been changing its subscription offerings and prices as new leadership at the company works to restructure the business.

Microsoft first introduced Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition through its partnership with Discord Nitro in May 2026. Designed to lower the barrier to entry for Xbox Game Pass, eligible Nitro subscribers could link their Xbox accounts and get access to the base version of the game subscription service, featuring only a fraction of the massive Game Pass library, no online play, and limited cloud streaming time. This Starter tier is considered more of a gateway to the Xbox ecosystem and, so far, has only been offered through partnerships with other subscription services.

Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition Adds Another Way to Subscribe

On July 21, 2026, Microsoft and Meta announced via Xbox Wire that Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition is now available to Meta Horizon+ subscribers, providing more than 50 games and 10 hours of cloud gaming per month. The current library coming to subscribers includes Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Grounded, DayZ, Deep Rock Galactic, and more, all downloadable for unlimited local play on supported hardware. Players who have connected their Xbox to an eligible Meta account can use the Starter Edition across consoles, PC, and a Meta Quest headset, with progress carrying over from platform to platform. With Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition offering over 50 curated games now folded into the Meta Horizon+ subscription featuring just over 100 games, Meta Quest owners can get access to more than 150 games at $7.99 per month, which is cheaper than Discord Nitro’s $9.99 monthly bundle.

Users can now access the Game Pass Starter Edition on their Meta devices through the free Xbox app in the Horizon Store, with more functionality planned. Microsoft and Meta have a long-standing partnership around the Quest platform, with Xbox controllers already sold through Meta’s official accessories store. Meta currently plans to introduce a gamepad emulator in the coming weeks that maps Quest Touch controller inputs to Xbox controls, reducing the need for an additional gamepad and getting fans up and running on the Xbox Game Pass library sooner.

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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.