Microsoft’s ‘Xbox Game Pass for PC’ Is Now Renamed ‘PC Game Pass’

• During the Game Awards this year, Microsoft announced that the Xbox Game Pass for PC would be renamed as simply 'PC Game Pass.'
• As a result of the new name, the PC offers no longer carries the Xbox branding to avoid confusion among gamers.
• Halo Infinite was released on PC Game Pass on December 9 and had a day-one launch on the platform.

Microsoft is rebranding 'Xbox Game Pass for PC' as just 'PC Game Pass,' with the Xbox logo still displayed in front of the new name. Microsoft made the announcement at The Game Awards 2021 (that took place on December 9) in a video, saying it wants to differentiate Game Pass from the console branding and raise awareness that Xbox also has a PC gaming service.

The tech giant previously offered Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The PC offer can no longer be confused with the Xbox console now that the Xbox branding was removed. PC Game Pass will also receive a new logo that includes only the Xbox symbol as part of the update.

The rebranding was also approached by an official Twitter account. According to the statement, there are no changes to the subscription service, and it is only a cosmetic update.

In the Game Awards video featuring Little Dicky and GaTa, Xbox showed a few upcoming day-one releases and some titles that are included with the service. The list starts with Halo Infinite, which was released on the Xbox platform as a day-one release on December 9.

A Plague Tale: Requiem and the multiplayer co-op shooter Redfall are some of the big day-one releases. New titles, including Sniper Elite 5 and Pigeon Simulator, were announced for the platform. Games including Total War: Warhammer III, and Starfield S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl will also be available as day-ones. Also, Age of Empires IV, Skyrim, and Microsoft's Forza Horizon 5 are offered, with the latter winning Best Audio Design, Best Sports/Racing, and best Innovation in Accessibility at the Game Awards 2021.

Previous announcements revealed that Microsoft would be adding 12 new games to Xbox Game Pass in December. Aside from the latest releases, Microsoft has revealed that seven existing titles will be departing the platform on December 15, with a 20% discount. In September, Sony announced that the PS Now service that can be used on PC could bring PS5 games to rival Xbox's PC Game Pass. So we'll see what good results come out of this competition.