Xbox Game Pass rolls out the ultimate life hack for PC gamers

Busy PC gamers can now get an accurate rundown of how long it takes to complete a Game Pass game before booting it up.

Xbox Game Pass has tons of cool features for console gamers on Xbox Series X|S, like the recent Discord integration. But its latest update is one for PC Game Pass, and sees Xbox partner up with HowLongToBeat to let you know how long it will take to complete a title in your PC Game Pass library.

Announced over on the Xbox blog, the new feature is perfect for trophy hunters, and busy gamers alike. It's also super handy for working out whether you can smash your way through Death Stranding or any of the other eligible best PC games before your subscription expires.  

Save your time as well as your progress

(Image credit: Xbox)

The HowLongToBeat feature is live now, and offers estimates for different play styles. Completionists are catered for, as well as those of you who prefer to power through the main campaign and leave it there.

HowLongToBeat is a community-driven site that's dedicated to providing info on game lengths. The times shown will be a fairly accurate guide, but you can always help it become even more so by submitting your own times. 

There are four categories at the moment, broken down like so: 

• Main Story (required)
  • You complete the main objectives, just enough to see the credits roll
• Main Story and Additional Quests / Medals / Unlockables
  • You take your time, discover and complete additional tasks not required
• Completionist (100%)
  • You strive for every achievement, every medal and conquer all that the game has to offer
• Combined
  • All play styles considered during estimation

And for the nerdier elements among you, there's more information available on the official website. You'll find community reviews, playthrough notes, details on how people play, and even more data that's broken down by platform and playstyle. 

The update also sees a 15% increase in the launch speed of the Xbox App on PC, as well as improved responsiveness when using "key experiences" in the app. Crash-free sessions are down, which we like to hear, and likewise, reports of games not downloading or installing properly are down by almost 50%. 

Joining the Xbox Insider program will let you try out new and upcoming console and UI features before anyone else. So if that sounds like it might be of interest, you can find out more info and how to sign up on the official website.

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