It’s actually surprising Microsoft and Mojang waited this long to make it happen, but it’s happening now at last regardless—on today’s Inside Xbox stream (which by the way will go down as one of the best episodes of the series yet), Microsoft confirmed that Minecraft will be joining the Game Pass lineup come April.
If you are, somehow, someone who has never actually played Minecraft—such as me, how have I gone my entire life without playing something as fundamental as Minecraft?—then this finally puts you out of excuses. The game is now available to you, alongside a multitude of other games on the Xbox Game Pass lineup, for absolutely free. It’s unclear if the Windows 10 version of the game will also be free for Game Pass subscribers as a result (that usually ends up happening, but maybe it will be different for Minecraft, given that it is big enough to accord special treatment).
Minecraft is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Windows 10, iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, VR, Mixed Reality, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some platforms.