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Xbox Game Pass is now included, in truncated form, as part of Discord Nitro, and it seems like Microsoft is really getting serious about giving subscribers a good deal.
Discord and Xbox shared news of the companies' teaming up on May 11, in separate announcements on their respective websites. Microsoft promises more benefits to come for current Xbox Game Pass subscribers, too, as CEO Asha Sharma seemingly continues her humble quest to lower subscription prices in an industry where everything is unrepentantly getting more expensive.
As for how the other half lives, those already subscribed to Xbox Game Pass should expect to receive Nitro benefits "later this month," says Microsoft, including a monthly allowance of 250 Discord Orbs you can redeem for rewards in Discord's Shop.
These changes come right after new Xbox CEO Sharma said in a leaked internal memo that Game Pass was "too expensive for players" – Ultimate became $30 in 2025 – and emphasized that the service needed to become "a more flexible system." Shortly after this memo went out in April, Xbox announced it was dropping Ultimate's price to $22.99, and lowering PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99 a month. So that takes care of Sharma's first point, that Xbox's game subscription service is too expensive.
Xbox and Discord's suddenly egalitarian partnership, then, addresses her second: Game Pass should be "more flexible." Microsoft's collaboration announcement even borrows this language, explaining, "We're teaming up again as we continue to make Game Pass more flexible for players."
The company adds, "We've been focused on meeting players where they already are and making gaming more social along the way." Considering Xbox's lousy sales numbers recently, that strategy sounds ideal.
