Report: EA Walled Microsoft’s Effort For XBOX Game Pass Family Plan

Recently, the conversation surrounding XBOX Game Pass concerns the options for consumers. It was reported in April that a ‘Pick Your Own Plan’ structure for the service is being coined internally at Microsoft. However, one plan that many were anticipating has yet to fully be realized. Back in 2022, it was reported that a XBOX Game Pass Family Plan was also in the pipeline as well.

By August, both countries of Ireland & Colombia were met with a soft launch for the new subscription tier. The following month, Microsoft officially acknowledged the service option and shared intent to ship the tier globally. At the time, it was even revealed that the monthly pricing for the XBOX Game Pass Family Plan would cost €21.99 which translates to roughly $25 USD at the time.

But according to a new report from Windows Central, the plans to fully commit to the XBOX Game Pass Family Plan were short-lived due to one collaborator attached to its Ultimate tier. In the report, it is understood that Electronic Arts stood in the way of the ‘Friends & Family’ plan from being fully realized beyond the select territories it was tested in.

As per sources familiar with the project, Electronic Arts completely opposed a XBOX Game Pass Family Plan. The idea of multiple users gaining access to a discounted version of EA Play was not a reality that the publisher was planning to see come to fruition. This does appear to be an ongoing trend with Electronic Arts as native versions for XBOX Play Anywhere is still absent for its titles too.

The foundation of XBOX Game Pass has recently shaken quite a bit in the past few weeks. After the turmoil that followed in November this past fall, new XBOX boss Asha Sharma reduced the price of XBOX Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 from current $30 then. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you upset by this new report for the XBOX Game Pass Family Plan?

Source: Windows Central