Elite Dangerous Returns to Xbox Game Pass, PC Version Excluded

Elite Dangerous will be added to Xbox Game Pass on May 12 for Ultimate and Premium members, but only the Xbox console and Xbox Cloud Gaming editions are included. The PC edition is not available on the Microsoft Store and therefore will not appear on Game Pass.

Microsoft’s Game Pass listing covers the current Xbox and cloud builds, allowing subscribers to play on Xbox hardware or via Xbox Cloud Gaming. The PC edition runs on a separate post-Odyssey codebase and is not present on the Microsoft Store, which prevents it from being included in the subscription service alongside the Xbox versions.

Frontier Developments announced in early 2022 that it had canceled console development to concentrate on a single codebase for the game’s story. Frontier Developments wrote in 2022: “Over the last several months, we have been wrestling with the best way to move forward, and it is with a heavy heart we have decided to cancel all console development. We need to be able to move forward with the story of the game, and in order for us to do this we need to focus on a single codebase. Elite Dangerous will continue on console as it is now together with critical updates, but we will focus on new content updates on PC on the post-Odyssey codebase.”

Console development was formally canceled in early 2022 and since then the Xbox build has received only critical fixes. New content and technical updates have been developed on the PC post-Odyssey codebase and are not present on the Xbox editions.

Players in the community have pointed to the platform split as the reason the PC release is not on Game Pass. Some players noted that the PC edition contains newer content and technical improvements not available on Xbox; other players said the Xbox version still provides a workable experience for console users who do not own a gaming PC.

Subscribers who download the Xbox or Cloud editions from Game Pass should expect the builds in their current Xbox state. The Game Pass listing makes the Xbox and Cloud builds available to Ultimate and Premium members on May 12, while PC users will continue to receive updates on the separate post-Odyssey codebase.