A new tier of Xbox Game Pass called "Starter Edition" has leaked, and it looks set to land directly inside Discord Nitro subscriptions, bringing titles like Stardew Valley and Fallout 4 to the chat platform's existing $9.99 per month plan.
The leak came from Discord Previews, a well-known account that tracks unreleased Discord features, and was subsequently picked up by The Verge. Screenshots shared on April 23 point to a bundled arrangement where Discord Nitro subscribers get access to over 50 games from the Game Pass library, up to 10 hours of cloud game streaming per month, and Xbox Rewards, all without paying anything extra on top of the existing Nitro price.
What the leaked Starter Edition actually includes
The name "Starter Edition" signals this is a trimmed-down version of the existing Game Pass lineup rather than the full Ultimate experience. Redphx, an xCloud open-source developer, spotted new code suggesting the tier would include third-party games alongside Microsoft's first-party offerings. The current Game Pass Essential tier, which the Starter Edition appears to be based on, leans heavily on catalog staples. Think Hades and Warhammer: Vermintide 2 rather than day-one releases.
Stardew Valley and Fallout 4 are the two confirmed names from the leak so far, which is a reasonable headline pair: one beloved indie that still pulls in millions of players years after launch, and one Bethesda RPG with a renewed audience following its TV adaptation. Neither is a surprise pick for a broad, accessible starter library.
This is based on leaked screenshots and code, not an official Microsoft or Discord announcement. Details, pricing, and availability could change before any public rollout.
The bigger picture behind the Microsoft-Discord deal
Here's the thing: this leak doesn't exist in a vacuum. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma met with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters just last month to discuss bundling Game Pass with other subscription services. Then, earlier this week, Microsoft teased a new partnership with Discord without giving specifics, which set off speculation that Nitro might get folded into Game Pass rather than the other way around. The leak suggests the actual direction is the reverse: Game Pass content flowing into Nitro.
The timing also follows Microsoft's announcement that day-and-date Call of Duty releases would be pulled from Game Pass Ultimate to reduce that tier's price. Sharma's internal memo, released the same day as the Discord leak, pointed to daily active users as the company's primary growth target. Bundling even a lightweight version of Game Pass with a platform that has hundreds of millions of registered users is a direct path to that number.
Microsoft's history with Discord adds some context. The company was in serious talks to acquire Discord for around $10 billion back in 2021 before those discussions collapsed. Microsoft ultimately redirected that energy toward the $70 billion Activision Blizzard deal. A deep integration with Nitro is a far cheaper way to build that relationship back up.
What this means for Nitro subscribers right now
Neither Microsoft nor Discord has officially confirmed any of this. The price of Nitro is currently $9.99 per month, and it's unclear whether a Game Pass bundle would push that figure higher or stay flat as a subscriber acquisition play. For context, Game Pass Core alone runs $14.99 per month, so even a stripped-down version at no added cost to Nitro would represent real value for subscribers who haven't already committed to a Game Pass tier.
For gamers already paying for Nitro primarily for Discord perks like animated avatars and file upload limits, suddenly having 50+ games available through the same subscription is a meaningful shift in what that $9.99 actually buys. What most players miss is that cloud streaming access is included too, meaning you wouldn't even need a console or a high-end PC to try these games.
Microsoft is clearly testing how far it can stretch Game Pass as a brand across platforms it doesn't own. Keep an eye on an official announcement from either company in the coming weeks, and check our latest gaming news for updates as this develops. For a broader look at what Game Pass tiers currently offer, browse our latest reviews to see how the library stacks up.
