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Amazon has teamed up with Microsoft to bring hundreds of console-quality Xbox games to Fire TV Stick devices. Starting next month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to stream hundreds of games — like Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Dead Space — to your television with no console needed.
Starting from just £1 for the firs fortnight, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a Netflix-like subscription that offers access to a rotating catalogue of console and PC games from Microsoft’s in-house studios, which now includes Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as other popular developers, like EA. After the £1 trial period, the subscription rises to £12.99 a month.
The cheapest Game Pass tier (£7.99) only allows you to play games on PC — not Fire TV and other platforms.
Fire TV Stick owners will be able to play Fortnite for free, with no subscription required, Amazon has confirmed.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is packed with hundreds of titles from developers including EA, Bethesda, Activision, The Coalition, Double Fine Productions, 343 Industries, id Software, and Playground Games, to name just a few
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Your in-game progress is synched over the cloud, so you can pick up on one device, like a smartphone, iPad, Samsung Smart TV, or Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and then resume where you left off on an Xbox Series X, PC, or Series S console. Xbox has even integrated features like voice chat with other places into its cloud offering, so the experience should be very close to playing on a console.
Fire TV Stick owners can pair Bluetooth-enabled controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller to play favourites like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Starfield.
Unfortunately, not every Fire TV device is compatible with Xbox Game Pass. From July, those with a Fire TV Stick 4K Max released in 2023 or a Fire TV Stick 4K released that same year will be able to start playing console games. These models start from £59.99, although are regularly on sale.
If you’re already got one of these streaming gadgets plugged into the HDMI port on your telly, download the Xbox app on your Fire TV device via the Amazon Appstore. Once you install and open the app, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your Microsoft account.
If you’re already an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you’ll have instant access to stream and play any of the hundreds of cloud-enabled titles in the Game Pass Ultimate library.
Not a member? You can sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate through the app or head online to get started with a new account.
Speaking about the decision to bring hundreds of games of Fire TV Stick owners, Daniel Rausch, Vice President of Fire TV and Alexa, said: “We’re committed to making it easy for customers to access their favourite entertainment experiences with Fire TV.
“We’re excited to work with Microsoft to bring the Xbox app to select Fire TV devices so customers can enjoy a vast library of high-quality games, allowing them to play amazing titles without the need for a console. Now customers have even more ways to play the games they love, wherever they are, with just a compatible Fire TV Stick, Bluetooth controller, and Game Pass Ultimate membership.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after Microsoft unveiled a raft of new Xbox consoles due to launch later this year. The new models arrive with more storage in favour of an optical disc drive to play Blu-ray movies and physical games. The new Xbox consoles are widely-tipped to compete head-to-head with the long-rumoured PS5 Pro from arch-nemesis Sony.
During the same press conference, Microsoft took the wraps off a bevy of new titles confirmed for the console, including Doom: The Dark Ages, the latest instalment in the long-running Doom franchise, as well as a very early look at the newest Gears of War title, ending a five-year wait for one of Xbox’s most popular properties.
Almost all of the games announced, including the new Doom, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, South Of Midnight, Perfect Dark, and Call of Duty, will all be available on Xbox Game Pass on the day of launch, indicating that Microsoft is making big bets on the subscription service as it tries to woo consumers grappling with a relatively softer economy. Microsoft also confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be offered as part of the Game Pass Ultimate subscription when it releases in the coming months.
