Discord Nitro now includes a starter edition of Xbox Game Pass

Xbox and Discord have deepened their partnership, and this one could bring Game Pass to a much wider casual audience. Starting today, eligible Discord Nitro subscribers can access a starter edition of Xbox Game Pass, including more than 50 downloadable PC and console games plus 10 hours of cloud gaming per month. VGC reports that games named in the Discord announcement include titles such as Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, DayZ, Deep Rock Galactic, Overcooked 2 and Grounded. Xbox Wire also says Game Pass subscribers will soon receive Discord Nitro benefits, including monthly Discord Orbs, extra Orbs from Quests and automatic Discord Shop discounts. This is a smart distribution play. Discord already sits where many gaming communities talk, stream and organize sessions. By putting a lightweight Game Pass tier inside Nitro, Microsoft gets another discovery funnel without asking users to start as full Game Pass subscribers. For players, the value depends on the exact library and cloud limits, but it lowers the friction for trying games with friends. For Xbox, it is another move away from Game Pass being only a console subscription.