Microsoft is testing its ‘Work & Play’ bundle idea again. The company first introduced the concept last November for the holiday season allowing consumers to buy the bundle for $199 but it was only available through Microsoft’s brick and motar stores. Starting on April 6th, Microsoft are reintroducing the bundle but this time for $50 less at $149 and it will be available on Microsoft’s online store.
The ‘Work & Play’ bundle includes 12 months of Xbox Live Gold Membership, Xbox Music Pass, Office 365 Home Premium and Skype Unlimited World and Skype WiFi all for $149. The bundle will save consumers $250 if they were to buy each of these subscriptions separately. However, the bundle continues to stay US only for now as Microsoft continue to experiment with the idea. It’s also available for a limited time again like last holiday season but Microsoft are giving no date when it ends. There’s also a three bundle per person limit on the new promotion.
Microsoft’s integration of productivity and consumer services into one bundle is interesting but makes sense. Many people use devices today for both work and entertainment and these services are available on multiple devices. People can use Xbox, Skype and Office services across any Windows 8/10 device and it also benefits people on Xbox 360 and Xbox One as their console based subscriptions are covered by the deal for online multiplayer and so is Office 365 on their PC.
Will you be checking out this new bundle? Would you like to see something similar outside the US? Let us know in the comments!
^Alan (@BeetleComet)
Alan Walsh is a games journalist, head writer at AR12Gaming. They contributed 52 articles to ICXM in 2015, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: leads editorial for AR12Gaming and reviews titles for OpenCritic.