It looks like Microsoft doesn’t want you playing Starfield on the cheap. Just over a week away from its long-awaited RPG, the company has removed the option for players to trial its all-you-can-play Game Pass service for £1.
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has withdrawn the discount trial price ahead of a high-profile release. It was also removed back in March but, after Redfall turned out to be distinctly middling, the offer returned in July. It would then be made less generous a month later — dropping from a month to 14 days — before being abandoned again.
That means that anybody wanting to use the subscription service to play Starfield — or any other titles in the library — will have to pay for one month in full. That’s £8 on PC, £9 on Xbox, or £13 for Ultimate, which offers both as well as other perks like additional EA games.
Despite this, Game Pass remains one of the best value propositions in gaming, with hundreds of titles accessible on your console and/or PC.
That said, anybody looking to eke every tiny bit of gameplay out of Starfield may be better off buying the game outright. Not only will that mean you own the game, rather than renting it on a rolling monthly basis, but for gamers who want to see it all, Starfield will likely take well over 100 hours to fully explore, which could add up to a lot of months if your Xbox time is limited.
Bethesda director Todd Howard estimates that the game will take most players 30 to 40 hours to complete, but that’s just for the main story. The title is said to be about 20 per cent longer than both Fallout 4 and Skyrim — games that the How Long to Beat website estimates take completionist players an average of 167 and 252 hours respectively.
Starfield is out on September 6, with early access to players with special editions from Friday. We’ll have our full review of the game available to read soon.
