It’s the latest addition to Game Pass, but it doesn’t go unnoticed. Pax Dei, an open-world MMO blending magic, legends, and community building, is now available for Xbox subscribers. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to forget the recent price increase for the service.
A free MMO coming to Game Pass: what is Pax Dei worth?
Available now for Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate subscribers, Pax Dei made a remarkable entrance. This Social sandbox MMORPGdeveloped by Mainframe Industries, transports players to a world inspired by medieval stories where ghosts roam and magic is omnipresent.
This new title joins the Game Pass library in a tense context: Microsoft recently announced a 50% price increase on the Ultimate subscription, now billed $29.99 / £22.99 per monthwhich led to a wave of cancellations.
But with Pax Dei, the firm is playing a strong card: access to an ambitious MMO at no extra costincluding two character slots and one month of Premium subscription, offering land to start building your own virtual home.
A huge medieval world to build, alone or in a clan
In Pax Dei you start from nothing. Your mission: find land in the Heartlandsbuild your house, cultivate your territory and participate in the life of your clan. The game is based on an economy entirely shaped by the players. Weapons, tools, food, clothing, decorations… everything is handcrafted by the inhabitants themselves.
The Xbox synopsis sums up the experience like this: “Travel to the relative safety of the Heartlands and find the ideal land on which to build your home. Protected by the grace of the Divine, your village is a safe haven where your Clan can grow and prosper.”
It’s not just about surviving, but shape a collective worldto develop your role within an organic society, and to build your own story with – or against – other players.
Price controversy: players divided despite the arrival of Pax Dei
The revelation of Pax Dei in Game Pass could have been unanimous. But the reactions of the players were instantaneous and contrasting on social networks. “Not for $30 a month, I don’t…” replied a user to Xbox’s tweet announcing the game. “Yes, like canceling Game Pass,” added another, recalling that the discontent linked to the price increase is still strong.
For Microsoft, the arrival of a massive and exclusive MMO is a way to justify the new positioning of Game Pass Premium, by offering long-term, community-based and potentially addictive content. But nothing says that this will be enough to retain the most dissatisfied subscribers.
Pax Dei is there. Free for Game Pass members, full of promise, and ready to welcome anyone who wants to build their kingdom. What happens next will be up to you.