If you haven’t heard of Xbox Game Pass, well, it’s only the best game subscription service for both Xbox and PC gamers alike. With titles like Sea of Thieves, Red Dead Redemption II, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, all of the Gears of War, and more, Xbox Game Pass offers insane value. The thing is, it only gets more valuable as time goes on. Well, starting in June, both Xbox and PC gamers will be able to enjoy No Man’s Sky at no additional cost as long as they have an active subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Not sure what No Man’s Sky is, or why it’s such a big deal that it’s a part of Xbox Game Pass? Keep reading to find out more.
No Man’s Sky is a much different game than it was at launch
For those unfamiliar, No Man’s Sky in 2020 is a vastly different game than it was back in 2016 when it launched. Two years ago, Hello Games brought the game to Xbox, making it available on all three major gaming platforms (Xbox, PS4, and PC). The Xbox release of No Man’s Sky was at the same time last he huge Next update, which brought proper, fully-fledged multiplayer to No Man’s Sky for the first time ever. And since then, the game has seen countless updates and releases, all at no cost to current owners.
As someone who originally pre-ordered the game back in 2016, and was sorely disappointed by what it offered, I was very hesitant to try it out again. However, No Man’s Sky is an entirely different game now than it was before. You can now have Exo-Mechs thanks to the April update, the Anomaly is a massive multiplay hub, and Living Ships are insanely interesting and gorgeous at the same time. And Hello Games isn’t stopping there, they have plenty more in the works, and I honestly can’t wait to see what comes of it.
Many people were reluctant to give No Man’s Sky a try, Xbox Game Pass fixes that
I have many friends who I’ve told “You should try No Man’s Sky!” after building my desktop. Well, because of its history and the launch of the game, many people just aren’t sure if they’re ready to drop any cash on a game that had such a rocky start…even though it’s received a ton of updates. Well, the fact that No Man’s Sky will be available on Xbox Game Pass means that many people might actually give it a shot, which is really awesome in my opinion. After building my desktop, I sunk over 40 hours into the game, and I come back probably once every week or two and dive in for several hours, building new bases, exploring planets, completing missions…It’s honestly great.
Moving to the Microsoft Store
Hello Games is also making a quite interesting move…as in, they’re moving No Man’s Sky to the Microsoft Store. While it’s unknown whether or not it’ll remain in the Steam store, it only seems natural that it would move to Microsoft’s Store given that No Man’s Sky will be on Game Pass soon. However, it’s unclear if this is a good move strategically for Hello Games, as personally, I never visit the Microsoft Store to browse for new games to play.
Pricing of No Man’s Sky and Xbox Game Pass
Those who have never played No Man’s Sky will probably want to wait on purchasing it, given that it still goes for $30 on Steam right now. Also, we’d say hold off on signing up for Xbox Game Pass if you’ve never tried it out before. The reason for this is Microsoft gives first-time users a month of Game Pass for just $1. After that, your months will cost $15 each, though we do see it go on sale from time to time for buy-one-get-one-free 3-month subscriptions, giving you six months for the price of three.
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