Your Complete Guide to Game Pass: Price, Games, Features, and More

Now is the time if you haven’t subscribed to Microsoft’s Game Pass yet. Right now, you can get your first month of Game Pass for $1, an incredible deal for an already valuable service. Unfamiliar with Game Pass? Not to worry, we are going to go through everything you need to know about the service.

5 Key Points and Facts about Game Pass 

• There are three Game Pass subscriptions: PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate.
• Game Pass Ultimate included Xbox Live Gold in the subscription.
• PC Game Pass currently has a beta of its Cloud Gaming component.
• Xbox exclusives, like Halo and Forza, are immediately available on Game Pass.
• The service is not included with Xbox Live Gold, but Ultimate does include an Xbox Live Gold membership

What is Game Pass?

First things first, what is Game Pass? It’s a monthly subscription service that gives members access to a library of games as well as membership perks. One of these perks is EA Play, a separate subscription that comes bundled with all Game Pass memberships.

EA Play is a lot like Game Pass but just for EA titles. You can download games from Electronic Arts’ (EA) extensive library of games and get special deals and in-game content for EA games. This is also a perk of Game Pass, in-game content as well as special deals. You also get access to Xbox Game Studios Exclusive titles the day they are released.

The service has over 400 titles at any one time. Xbox exclusives like Halo, Forza, and anything from subsidiary, Bethesda, are basically permanent. Third-party titles are constantly rotating due to licensing agreements. So, you’ll get a deep roster of games at any one time, but the landscape is always changing.

Once a game is set to leave the service, Game Pass offers a 20% discount to purchase that game outright. If a game is on the service, you will have access to it for the tenure of your subscription. If you decide to leave the service for whatever reason, you can transfer your saved data to another account, like Steam. Granted, the process is needlessly clunky but it is an option if you decide to drop Game Pass.

Game Pass: Each Plan Explained

There are three versions of Game Pass you can sign up for: PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate. Let’s dig into some of the similarities and differences of each plan.

PC Game Pass

PC Game Pass: 3 Month Membership [Digital Code]

$24.29

• PC GAME PASS: Play hundreds of high-quality PC games with friends including new day one titles and get an EA Play membership.
• PC GAMES: A huge variety of PC games from every genre, and new games added all the time, there’s something for everyone to play.
• DAY 1 RELEASES: Enjoy incredible new games on day one like Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Starfield and more!
• RIOT GAMES: Play Riot’s biggest PC and mobile games and enjoy premium content as an Xbox Game Pass member. Link your Xbox profile to a free Riot account to unlock premium rewards and member-only...
• EA PLAY INCLUDED: Access to top Electronic Arts titles on PC from series like Battlefield and STAR WARS. Plus, exclusive in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, and early trials...

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06/04/2023 05:01 am GMT

As the name suggests, this subscription plan is strictly for the PC. Originally rolled out as a beta called Xbox Game Pass for PC, it has graduated to a full-on plan option for Game Pass.  

PC Game Pass can be kind of confusing so, let’s run down how it works. You have to download the Xbox for PC app and download games from there.

This sounds fine, but users have reported a lot of issues with the app. Prone to frequent crashes, bugs, and performance issues, the app is unanimously despised by members. It has a confusing, poorly designed interface and doesn’t offer the quality you would find in other services like steam.

As far as game selection, it is very similar to the offerings on Xbox, save a few gems that didn’t come to the console. Xbox and Bethesda games are a mainstay, and you still have access to the day one releases.

Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass for Console: 3 Month Membership [Digital Code]

• Play new games like Starfield on day one and enjoy hundreds of high-quality games on console for one low monthly price with Xbox Game Pass for Console.
• Download and enjoy iconic franchises from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, indie studios, blockbusters, and more.
• With a huge variety of games from every genre, and new titles added all the time, there’s something for everyone to play.
• Get member discounts off select games in the Game Pass for Console library and related game add-ons.
• Upgrade your experience to Game Pass Ultimate to get all the benefits of Game Pass for Console, plus online multiplayer to play with friends on console, PC, phones, and tablets. An EA Play membership...

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The original console version of the game is about as polished as it gets. For $10 a month ($1 for the first month), players get access to a huge library of games, including new titles, just like the PC version.

The Xbox Game Pass app is super easy to access and use and yields a much better experience than its PC counterpart. It doesn’t come with an Xbox Live Gold Membership, however, so if you are looking to play online you will need to sign up for that separate service or upgrade to Ultimate.

Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: 3 Month Membership [Digital Code]

$41.66

• GAME PASS ULTIMATE: Play new games on day one. Plus, enjoy hundreds of high-quality games. With games added all the time, there’s always something new to play.
• DAY 1 RELEASES: Enjoy incredible new games on day one like Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Starfield and more!
• RIOT GAMES: Play Riot’s biggest PC and mobile games and enjoy premium content as an Xbox Game Pass member. Link your Xbox profile to a free Riot account to unlock premium rewards and member-only...
• EA PLAY INCLUDED: Access to top Electronic Arts titles from series like Battlefield and STAR WARS. Plus, exclusive in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, and early trials of...
• XBOX CLOUD GAMING: Play hundreds of console games on PCs, consoles, phones, tablets, & Samsung 2022 smart TVs from the cloud.

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06/04/2023 05:35 am GMT

The best of both worlds, Game Pass Ultimate is probably the plan most users will want to go for. You get access to everything from PC and Console Game Pass plans, plus EA Play, plus a subscription to Xbox Live Gold all for $14.99. All in all, it’s a stupidly good deal for gamers.

Ultimate also comes with access to the cloud gaming beta, Xbox’s stab at game streaming. The service is fairly stable at the moment but it doesn’t offer as much performance as rivals in the cloud gaming market.

Xbox Cloud gaming can run games at 1080p at 60 FPS, compared to 1440p at 120 FPS on Google Stadia. Still, the service is in its beta right now and, hopefully, it can increase its performance levels before the full release.

The History of Game Pass: What to Know

Game Pass was announced on February 28^th, 2017. Part pet project, part mea culpa, the service was intended to get gamers back on the Xbox One platform and create excitement for the future.

When it was originally released, the Xbox One was positioned as more than just a gaming console, but a complete entertainment hub. This shift away from a gaming focus irritated some fans who didn’t care about these features.

Game Pass was a one-two punch designed to reinvest in the gaming aspect of Microsoft’s business as well as test out a subscription model that had proved lucrative for video streamers, like Netflix. The service was originally offered to members of the Xbox Insider community. Members got access to a small number of titles and gave the company feedback on the project.

It was officially rolled out later that year to Xbox Live Gold members than to the public at large.

The service was built around one game originally, the action-adventure game Sea of Thieves. Developed by legendary studio Rare, Sea of Thieves was conceived as an open-world, multiplayer pirate sim played in the first person. Players could join friends online to travel the high seas and take on merchant contracts for various companies.

The most notable thing about the game’s release was its inclusion as one of the first first-party releases on Xbox Game Pass. Sea of Thieves might not be remembered today but Game Pass is trucking along just fine.

The Public Response

It’s safe to say that Game Pass is a hit. The service’s subscriber count has steadily increased every year and many fans bought the less powerful Xbox Series S simply to access Game Pass games.

By the end of 2020, Game Pass had over 15 million subscribers. A few months later in January 2021, the subscriber base had grown to 18 million. By January 2022, that number had grown to 25 million. Game Pass’ growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Most game journalists have praised the service as an invaluable subscription for any gamer. Game Pass has something for everyone, from Bethesda classics like Skyrim and Fallout to new third-party titles, like Two Point Campus. Game Pass continues to prove why it’s the best deal in the biz.

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