Xbox gamers surprised with major free download

Xbox gamers are in for a surprise treat with a game that is coming to Xbox Game Pass at no extra cost very soon but you will be able to play it even earlier.

Despite its recent price hike, Xbox Game Pass still offers great value for money. Sure, it sucks when anything becomes more expensive, but even a single month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a lot cheaper than a brand-new AAA game.

Check out the Starbound trailer below!

With Xbox Game Pass, you literally have hundreds of video games at your disposal and you even benefit from exclusive free DLC, discounts, and much more. Granted, games come and go on the service except for first-party games, but if anything, that gives us more of a reason to play through a game before it’s too late.

Released in 2016 on PC, Starbound is already available on Steam as well as the PC version of Xbox Game Pass, but now it’s on the way to console. If the Steam review rating of “Very Positive” is anything to go by, Xbox gamers have every reason to be excited about this one.

“You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe…,” reads the synopsis of the indie title from Chucklefish.

Starbound, an action RPG, does not have an Xbox release date at the time of writing, but it will undergo a playtest before its console launch. As detailed on playstarbound.com, the free playtest will take place on 4 September 2024 and will be accessible via the Xbox Insider Hub on the console.

The main purpose of the Starbound playtest (other than making sure the game runs well on Xbox) is to optimise the game to be played with a controller as default, rather than the keyboard and mouse of the PC.

If you’re already a member of the Xbox Insider Hub, you will find the game free to download under ‘Starbound Preview’. Hopefully, the full Xbox release date for Starbound is only weeks away at the most.