Dataminers suggest Xbox is about to launch a neutered Game Pass tier with only first-party games

Though Xbox was no stranger to breaking Game Pass into as many tiers as possible prior to Asha Sharma's ascension as chief executive, it would appear that the company under her direction wants to introduce yet another tier, one that only contains older first-party Microsoft titles. As per Eurogamer (via Windows Central), datamining has shown that Xbox could be preparing to release an additional Game Pass tier, one that is far removed from all the others currently on offer. It would only give you access to first-party Microsoft games, not including day-one releases, but older ones whose prime selling points have passed. According to dataminer redphx, who discovered this new Game Pass tier codenamed "TRION," it would include games such as Doom: Eternal, Dishonored 2, Hellblade (the first one), State of Decay 2, among others, but would also let you play live-service titles like Elder Scrolls Online as part of the package. https://twitter.com/redphx/status/2037323830788829692 The full list is rather brief at the moment and doesn't even include many older Xbox titles, even though it appears to be a tier meant specifically to offer Microsoft's own suite of games. At any rate, it's probably going to be on the cheaper end of the spectrum, given that its limited offering pales in comparison to even the cheapest Game Pass tiers available at the moment. Some in the replies even speculated this could be a free Game Pass tier, and while that isn't out of the question considering many other subscription services that have one of those (albeit not among gaming companies), I fail to see Microsoft, of all companies, going down that route. However, it could be one of those so-called "free" tiers that come pre-loaded with endless, annoying advertisements that'll cut you off in the middle of gameplay to show you which Mountain Dew flavor is currently on sale in your area. Or whatever else Microsoft would want to show players. We'll have to wait for official confirmation to actually know what this is all about, though, but I'm certainly not holding my breath for a subscription service that lets me play games from the previous decade that often sell for peanuts on platforms like Steam. The post Dataminers suggest Xbox is about to launch a neutered Game Pass tier with only first-party games appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 30, 2026 - 03:25

Dataminers suggest Xbox is about to launch a neutered Game Pass tier with only first-party games

Though Xbox was no stranger to breaking Game Pass into as many tiers as possible prior to Asha Sharma's ascension as chief executive, it would appear that the company under her direction wants to introduce yet another tier, one that only contains older first-party Microsoft titles.

As per Eurogamer (via Windows Central), datamining has shown that Xbox could be preparing to release an additional Game Pass tier, one that is far removed from all the others currently on offer. It would only give you access to first-party Microsoft games, not including day-one releases, but older ones whose prime selling points have passed.

According to dataminer redphx, who discovered this new Game Pass tier codenamed "TRION," it would include games such as Doom: Eternal, Dishonored 2, Hellblade (the first one), State of Decay 2, among others, but would also let you play live-service titles like Elder Scrolls Online as part of the package.

https://twitter.com/redphx/status/2037323830788829692 The full list is rather brief at the moment and doesn't even include many older Xbox titles, even though it appears to be a tier meant specifically to offer Microsoft's own suite of games. At any rate, it's probably going to be on the cheaper end of the spectrum, given that its limited offering pales in comparison to even the cheapest Game Pass tiers available at the moment.

Some in the replies even speculated this could be a free Game Pass tier, and while that isn't out of the question considering many other subscription services that have one of those (albeit not among gaming companies), I fail to see Microsoft, of all companies, going down that route.

However, it could be one of those so-called "free" tiers that come pre-loaded with endless, annoying advertisements that'll cut you off in the middle of gameplay to show you which Mountain Dew flavor is currently on sale in your area. Or whatever else Microsoft would want to show players.

We'll have to wait for official confirmation to actually know what this is all about, though, but I'm certainly not holding my breath for a subscription service that lets me play games from the previous decade that often sell for peanuts on platforms like Steam.

The post Dataminers suggest Xbox is about to launch a neutered Game Pass tier with only first-party games appeared first on Destructoid.

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