Will Starfield Shattered Space be on Xbox Game Pass?

With the release of Starfield's Shattered Space DLC fast approaching, September 30, many Game Pass users are eager to know whether they can play it. The answer is yes, they will be able to. However, there's a caveat. They will not be able to access any content specific to the DLC with the regular Game Pass version. This includes the Voruun'kai worldspace, the quest chain that unlocks it, new characters, weapons, or the zero-G mechanic.

If you're a member of this subscription service, there are a multiple ways for you to play this DLC at launch, but none of them are free.

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Starfield Shattered Space DLC will not be free on Xbox Game Pass

This is what you must pay (Image via Bethesda Softworks)

Bethesda has not officially mentioned whether Shattered Space will be available for free on Xbox Game Pass, but the answer is no, it won't. The current Game Pass catalogue contains "Starfield," which is just the base game. In order to gain access to the upcoming DLC, one would have to either buy it separately or purchase Starfield Digital Premium Edition.

For players who hold a Game Pass subscription, these are the options:

• Starfield Premium Edition Upgrade: $31.49 ($34.99 without Game Pass discount)
• Starfield Shattered Space as a standalone DLC: $26.99 ($29.99 without Game Pass discount)

You can also outright buy the Starfield Premium Edition for the Game Pass discounted price of $79.99. This would give you the entire game, as well as any future DLCs, in perpetuity. If you're planning to keep the Game Pass subscription for the long haul, it's the most expedient option to buy the Premium Edition Upgrade.

Note that when we say it won't be free, we mean this during launch—and at least up till the end of 2025, if the current pricing model stands. Bethesda plans to keep Starfield alive with annual story expansion content drip-fed through the Premium Edition bundle, which only holds value if the DLCs remain paid.

For confirmation, the biggest example we can look towards is Skyrim: Anniversary Edition. The legacy DLCs (Hearthfire, Dawnguard, Dragonborn) were made free only because the Special Edition repackaged and subsumed these into the base game. To pay for the extra Anniversary Edition content, though, you have to shell out $40 (with the Game Pass discount applied).

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This may potentially leave modders in a bind. If a future mod makes use of the new assets coming with Shattered Space (from House Varuun armors to the zero-G mechanic), then the DLC will certainly be a hard requirement. Thankfully, the modding scene isn't quite there yet, so you'll have plenty of time to think about it.

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