No, you can’t play Starfield for $1 – Xbox has withdrawn the $1 14-day Xbox Game Pass trial again

Bad news, Xbox fans – you won’t be able to play Starfield for $1, because Xbox has withdrawn the $1 14-day Xbox Game Pass trial. Again.

The $1 / £1 / AU$1 trial month had long been a staple of the subscription service since it launched way back in 2017, but in March 2023, Microsoft confirmed it was ditching the introductory offer and was “evaluating different marketing promotions” for new members in the future. 

Xbox then reintroduced the trial last month… only to quietly withdraw it again just before Starfield is set to release. Funny that.

ICYMI, Xbox Game Pass recently had a price hike. Xbox Game Pass subscription prices rose from $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$10.95 to $10.99 / £8.99 / AU$11.95. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers were similarly affected, with their costs rising from $14.99 / £10.99 / AU$15.95 per month to $16.99 / £12.99 / AU$18.95. 

Only players in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia were spared the price increase.

That means you’ll now either have to take out a full month’s subscription to play Starfield – and Xbox’s other AAA titles, of course – or buy the game outright. 

ICYMI, the person who leaked 45 minutes of Starfield has been arrested for handling stolen goods.

It took police just four days to find and arrest Harris after he leaked a 45-minute segment of the game online, although, to be fair, Harris had plastered his social media with numerous videos about his ill-gotten gains, so he shouldn’t have been too surprised when the police cars pulled up. 

The sci-fi game recently went gold, and you can preload Starfield right now on Xbox Series X|S and PC (though Steam players still need to wait until August 30) if you’ve pre-ordered the game, or are planning on downloading it from the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

You may have to free up some space beforehand, though – Starfield is going to take up a sizeable 100.19GB on Xbox Series X|S for Standard Edition players, and 117.07GB for those rocking the Premium Edition. PC and Steam users have it worse still, with Bethesda’s spacefaring RPG taking up an eye-watering 139.84GB.

Want to go all-in on Starfield hardware for your Xbox before the game launches? Here’s where you can buy the Starfield Xbox Wireless Controller, as well as where to buy the Starfield Xbox Wireless Headset.