Microsoft is building a China-specific Game Pass offering codenamed Project Saluki, featuring multiple subscription tiers, localized rewards, and regulator-approved content. Here is what the leak reveals.
Microsoft is developing a dedicated version of Xbox Game Pass for the Chinese market. Codenamed “Project Saluki,” the initiative was uncovered in the latest Xbox Insider builds and first reported by Windows Central’s Jez Corden on May 12, 2026. Saluki covers multiple Game Pass tiers and reward structures tailored to China’s regulatory environment and player preferences, aligning directly with new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s stated goal of expanding Microsoft’s gaming presence in China.
What Is Project Saluki?
Project Saluki is not a simple port of the existing Game Pass service. References found inside the Xbox PC app’s latest update describe it as a “China market expansion for Game Pass, Rewards, and subscription tiers.” Rather than a single subscription level, Saluki appears to encompass several tiers designed specifically for the Chinese audience.
The content library will likely be built around titles verified by Chinese regulatory bodies. Given the region’s strong affinity for free-to-play models and microtransaction ecosystems, Corden’s sources indicate a heavier emphasis on in-game currencies and reward structures compared to the global Game Pass offering. Specific pricing, the exact title library, and a rollout timeline remain unconfirmed.
Why China Matters to Xbox Now
China represents one of the largest and fastest-growing gaming markets in the world. Analyst projections cited in the Windows Central report suggest China could surpass the United States as the world’s biggest gaming market in 2026, with growth already outpacing traditional Western regions. Roughly 20 percent of global player spending comes from Chinese gamers.
The market has historically leaned heavily toward mobile gaming, but recent AAA breakouts have shifted that balance. Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Game Science, crossed 10 million sales across all platforms shortly after launch, signaling that Chinese players are increasingly engaging with premium, console-style experiences. In an open letter published on April 23, Sharma and Xbox content boss Matt Booty acknowledged that developers outside Xbox’s traditional markets are competing with the largest Western studios by combining speed, scale, and genre reinvention.
Microsoft’s Existing Footprint in China
Microsoft is not starting from zero in China. The company entered the Chinese console market in 2014 with the launch of the Xbox One, becoming the first console officially sold in the country after a 14-year ban was lifted. Through its Activision Blizzard unit and partnerships with companies like NetEase, Microsoft already has significant operational infrastructure in the region.
However, China’s strict game approval process has historically limited what Western companies can offer. Every game released in the country requires clearance from local regulators, and the approval process is slow, with few titles making it through. This makes a subscription service like Game Pass, which relies on a large rotating library, impractical to deploy in its current global form. Saluki appears designed to solve this problem by offering a curated, regulator-approved catalog rather than the full international library.
The Asha Sharma Factor
Project Saluki arrives in the context of sweeping changes under Asha Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as head of Xbox in February 2026. Her first 62 days moved at a remarkable pace:
- Day 14: Microsoft announced Project Helix, the codename for its next-generation console.
- Day 35: The “This is an Xbox” ad campaign was retired.
- Day 60: Game Pass Ultimate was cut from $29.99 to $22.99 per month, and PC Game Pass dropped from $16.49 to $13.99.
The price reduction came with a significant trade-off: new Call of Duty titles will no longer arrive in Game Pass on launch day, instead joining the service approximately a year later. In a leaked internal memo obtained by The Verge, Sharma wrote that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players” and that the company needed “a better value equation.”
In a 28-minute interview with Game File’s Stephen Totilo on April 24, Sharma described a two-part strategy for Game Pass. The first step was affordability, already addressed with the price cut. The second is a fundamental rethink of what the subscription should offer eight years after its inception, including lower-cost tiers, bundled partnerships (a “Starter Edition” bundled with Discord Nitro has already leaked), and targeted regional offerings. Saluki fits squarely inside that second phase.
Project Positron: The Disc-to-Digital Bridge
The same Xbox Insider builds that revealed Saluki also surfaced a second codename: “Positron.” Described as a possible disc-to-digital entitlement program, Positron could allow players to convert physical game discs into digital licenses for use on systems without a disc drive.
PlayStation reported an 85 percent digital sales ratio in its most recent quarter, the highest on record, and Microsoft’s ratio is believed to be even higher. Both the PlayStation 6 and the Xbox Helix console-PC hybrid are widely expected to ship without disc drives by default. A working Positron program would let existing disc owners carry their libraries into a diskless future and access features currently locked behind digital ownership, such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Play Anywhere.
Corden cautions that details on Positron remain “incredibly scant” and urges treating the information as speculation for now. Microsoft proposed a similar disc-to-digital system during the Xbox One reveal in 2012, but it was scrapped after backlash over lending and resale restrictions. If Positron moves forward, questions around how to prevent license duplication and whether publishers would support it will need clear answers.
How Saluki Connects to the Bigger Picture
Game Pass subscriber numbers and console hardware sales have been under pressure in core Western markets for several quarters. Sharma has made geographic expansion a central element of her agenda, positioning daily active players rather than console unit sales as the headline metric. From this perspective, Saluki reads less as an experiment and more as a structural bet that Game Pass’s next major user base will come from outside North America and Western Europe.
The broader transformation also includes revisiting Xbox’s approach to exclusivity. Sharma declined to rule out a return to exclusive titles during her Totilo interview, and the open letter she co-authored with Booty stated the division would “reevaluate its approach to exclusivity, windowing, and AI.” Microsoft spent $68.7 billion acquiring Activision Blizzard King in 2023 and $7.5 billion on ZeniMax Media in 2020, then released formerly exclusive titles on rival hardware. Whether that strategy holds under Sharma’s leadership remains the largest unresolved question.
What a China-Specific Game Pass Could Look Like
While concrete details are still scarce, the available evidence points to several likely characteristics of a Saluki-powered Game Pass for China:
- A curated library limited to games approved by Chinese regulators
- Regional pricing models separate from the global structure
- Greater emphasis on in-game currencies and microtransaction-based rewards
- Cloud gaming integration suited to local infrastructure
- Subscription tiers that reflect Chinese consumer habits, including the dominance of mobile-first play
If Saluki launches as a full product, it would represent Microsoft’s most ambitious foray into China’s subscription gaming space and the most targeted regional variant Game Pass has ever received.
When Will We Learn More?
The next Xbox Games Showcase, scheduled for June 7, 2026, is the most immediate window for further announcements. Sharma’s exclusivity decisions and additional Game Pass tier details are also expected to land in the coming weeks. Until then, the verified Xbox Insider build references, Sharma’s public commitments to China expansion, and the rapid pace of her first two months in the role provide the clearest picture of what Microsoft has in mind.
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