One week before Starfield, Microsoft quietly kills the $1 Xbox Game Pass deal again

Microsoft has killed the $1 Xbox Game Pass deal once again, this time just over a week before the launch of Starfield - arguably the biggest-ever day one Game Pass release.

Over the weekend, Xbox players began to notice that Xbox no longer offers new Game Pass subscribers the option to get the service for $1. The timing of this move with Starfield's launch is conspicuous, especially given that the $1 deal was shortened from a full month to just 14 days earlier in the month of August.

For years, new subscribers were able to get their first month of Xbox Game Pass for just $1, but this deal has been sent to and brought back from the grave at least once before. The $1 deal previously ended back in March, with Microsoft saying at the time that it was "evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future." The $1 deal then returned in July, just as Xbox Game Pass got a worldwide price hike.

It remains to be seen if the deal will return once again after the shine has worn off of Starfield a bit, but for now it looks like you'll need to pay either $10 for PC Game Pass, $11 for console Game Pass, or $17 for the all-in-one Game Pass Ultimate if you want to play the RPG through a subscription. Of course, you do still have the option of paying $70 once and keeping the game until the internet melts down.

You can always pay even more money if you want to get into Starfield Early Access.