There are already quite a few ways you can get Game Pass these days, and now we can add one more method to the list: Discord. More specifically, Discord Nitro.
Yes, the boffins at Discord and Xbox have announced a new partnership, so now a Discord Nitro subscription nets you what they are calling an Xbox Game Pass “starter edition” at no extra cost. This includes 50+ titles to choose from, and new games will be added down the line. The official lineup has not been announced, although previously leaks suggest it will contain 58 titles that look very similar to the existing Game Pass Essential selection, minus a few games that just got added to the service within the last week.
If you’d like to read the full list of leaked games that are alleged to be included in this new tier of Game Pass, click below.
- Among Us
- ASTRONEER
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Celeste
- Chivalry 2
- Cities: Skylines – Remastered
- 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 (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 (including Aftermath)
- Wreckfest
At first, I assumed this “starter edition” was basically just Game Pass Essential, the existing £6.99 subscription that lets you play online, has a library of 68 games and lets you stream your titles as well. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, as the Discord Nitro version limits game streaming to 10 hours per month.
And there’s another tradeoff: the Discord Nitro Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition – hereby known as DNXGPS….no, that sounds just as stupid – also doesn’t include online multiplayer for console. Which is baffling, considering Discword is a widely used tool among people who play multiplayer games.
Free-to-play online games are the exception to the rule, but otherwise, if you want to play online, you’ll still need to get at least Game Pass Essential for £6.99/$9.99 a month.
Unless, of course, if you play on PC where you don’t need any monthly subscriptions to play online. In other words, Discord’s new bundle seems mainly aimed at the PC crowd.
Game Pass subscribers will also start to get some extra Discord goodies as well. Eligible Game Pass users will receive 250 Discord Orbs per month, 1.2x extra Orbs when completing Discord Quests, and Discord Shop discounts.
On top of all that, the Xbox Wire post boasts about new Discord updates that “make it even easier to discover and jump into games included with Game Pass.” According to them, if you see a friend playing something cool, whether in their game stream or Discord game activity, you can look for a play button and then choose Game Pass to start playing.
Asha Sharma has recently come into power at Xbox and has already begun making changes, such as lowering the price of Game Pass, creating a new logo and penning an open letter admitting to the brand’s many cock-ups. But it’s unclear if this new Discord initiative is her doing or a ball that was already rolling back in the Phil Spencer era.




