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PC Game Pass now gives your friends a free trial

Microsoft’s PC Game Pass now includes five free trials, so you can jump into co-op or just let them try games like Minecraft and Starfield free on the Xbox app.

PC Game Pass free trial friend invite - Marcus Fenix from Gears of War holds his fingers up to his ear

PC Game Pass just got better, especially for those of you trying to sell your friends on the benefits of Microsoft’s subscription service. A new addition to the service lets you bring in pals to try out the best PC games available on the Xbox app, making it a great way to round up a crew for some of the best co-op games around. Whether Minecraft, Valheim, Sea of Thieves, Darktide, or something else is your jam, you won’t be short of people to play with.

The full list of PC Game Pass games is pretty mammoth at this point, making the subscription service a pretty appealing proposition to most PC gamers. However, Microsoft clearly feels the service has more potential to grow in the PC market, where many players are invested in Valve’s Steam ecosystem and are happy to pay outright for games that they can keep forever.

PC Game Pass subscribers, as well as those with Game Pass Ultimate, can now invite up to five friends for fourteen-day free trials of the subscription service. Once you send the invite, your friend will have 30 days to claim it, and they’ll get full access to everything on PC Game Pass for that two-week duration.

That means you can use it to boost up your Redfall crew, invite pals to hang out on your Minecraft server, get a big multiplayer game of Civilization 6 going over the long bank holiday weekend, or even give your mates access to every League of Legends champion for the duration of the trial (if you’re a special kind of monster). Alternatively, you could use it to let them play big single-player releases by holding off until the likes of the Starfield release date.

The deal is available in all regions except for Argentina, Russia, and Turkey, and you’ll get another five invites starting on January 1, 2024, refreshing each year after that. You’ll also only be able to invite those who haven’t previously had Game Pass to take advantage of this Game Pass free trial offer, but it’s a perfect way to give those friends of yours who’ve been holding out a taste of exactly what’s available.

Take a look through the biggest upcoming games in 2023 and beyond to see what your next PC gaming love might be. Alternatively, keep your eyes out for the next Steam sale for more great deals on games if you prefer buying them outright.