Elite: Dangerous and The Long Dark now available on Xbox Game Preview

At its E3 2015 press event, Microsoft announced a a new service called Xbox Game Preview that allows users to play ID@Xbox games before they're officially launched in a manner similar to Steam's early access program. Now, the first set of games for this program, Elite: Dangerous and The Long Dark are available as previews.

For a quick rundown, Elite: Dangerous is the fourth game in the Elite series, and plants players in their own starship with the task of exploring millions of star systems as they combat their way through space. The Long Dark, on the other hand, tasks players with exploring a frozen wilderness as they simply try to survive against the elements.

The preview version of each game is free to try for Xbox One owners now, with purchasing options available as well. As far as prices are concerned, Elite: Dangerous clocks in at $30.99, while The Long Dark runs $19.99. At those prices, Elite: Dangerous is a great deal, coming in around $23 cheaper than its price on Steam at the moment, while The Long Dark is a bit pricier at $10 more thanks to the Steam summer sale.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl.