Your pocket will really feel the impact. That's the quandary I face over and over again when it's time to buy new games. But the Game Pass more or less fixes that issue. Its library is gigantic, and it offers that for an incredibly fair amount each month. I've yet to regret paying for it, and why would I if the arrangement is just so great?
It’s incredible value for money.
We've already discussed everything one could possibly want to know about Xbox Game Pass. One way to look at it is just as a subscription service, although for that distinction, it comes in two flavours: plain Xbox Game Pass for $9.99 a month and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $14.99 a month. The Ultimate version is all about providing support for both PC and Xbox. What's more, for just $1, you can access it for 14 days if you're a first-timer.
But why should you spend your money on Xbox Game Pass when, for instance, that money could be used to purchase an actual game (and therefore not feel like a basic service)?
Games typically cost between $50 and $60 and often push up against that upper limit for new releases. If you're not careful, your "hobby" could rival some of the really expensive habits you hear people talk about.
Game Pass does not solve the "buy the latest game at full price" problem; you can, and still will, spend hundreds more on games you want to play. But Game Pass can keep that cost from getting completely out of control. Along with the game count, which is 100+ and growing, Game Pass offers substantial member deals. These aren't chump-change discounts off old games; often, subscriber-exclusive member deals are on new and recently released titles. The cost of the service—$9.99 per month, or as part of the Xbox All Access monthly payment plan—becomes much more reasonable when you factor in the game discounts and deals that come with it.
I get early access to games.
One of the main reasons I've stayed loyal to Xbox Game Pass is the early access it grants me to certain games, especially those from EA now that EA Play is part of Game Pass, too. Whether it's the next entry in EA's FIFA or the next big thing from Ninja Theory (creators of Hellblade), there's a good chance that subscribers like me will play the new game days or even a week before those who don't subscribe. Bethesda Softworks' Starfield was even unlocked five days early for Game Pass subscribers.
Now, this isn't an across-the-board perk on every new release, but it is advantageous for plenty of major releases, and it sometimes even extends to Game Pass-bound game demos and preview builds.
It helps me gauge my playing habits.
It is very convenient to have access to a huge library of games that you can play with no additional cost. It's especially useful if you tend to play one type of game and want to venture out into new genres. If you're not sure whether you'll even like a certain kind of experience, you can just try it on the subscription service and not have to worry about whether it's worth the money.
Whether your PC can handle it or not, you can at least try to download a few similar games to see if they're worth the investment. After all, it doesn't make any sense to buy a $60 game and then decide an hour later that it's just not for you. (You can probably still get it refunded, at least if you're using Steam, but it's simply better to avoid the whole situation and know in advance.) Game Pass by Xbox provides an exceptional variety of games to ease the process of finding something you'll like.
I can play with my console friends.
Although the PC gaming community is significantly larger than the console gaming community, nearly everyone knows that one person who is adamant that their Xbox is the best platform to play on. Well, Microsoft has made it incredibly easy for Xbox and PC gamers to play together by making the Game Pass cross-platform. This now means that those who own an Xbox can still play with their friends who own PCs.
However, there is one major catch: your friends who own Xboxes will also need to have their own Game Pass subscriptions. On the other hand, you can be as open with your game choices as you'd like because Game Pass Ultimate allows for play on PC, Xbox, and even mobile devices.
EA Play Saves the Day.
The game publishers have begun to unleash a torrent of subscription services, with every last one of them wanting to get their switch atop your TV or under your streaming tower. And it can all be a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, things don't work that way over at Electronic Arts. They give you a choice: for $4.99 a month, part with $30 for the year, if Project xCloud doesn't come up to the bat before then, and you can have one of the best subscriptions going.
You receive two subscriptions for the price of one. EA Play does count. Besides getting first dibs on EA's offerings, you also tend to get good discounts, which means you're not paying that much more for EA's half of the subscription anyway. And lo! With the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong and money being tight for so many people, the people at Electronic Arts thought it was a good time to raise the price on the half of the subscription that pertains to their company again.
Certain EA games are only available in a limited way or are restricted to just demos when first added to Game Pass. For example, one of those titles, FC24, appeared on Game Pass sometime after the game itself was released. Game Pass subscribers can still play these titles, but they come with my kind of system for determining what is essentially "full game access." Some titles, like FC24, only grant that access with a discount.
It's Easy to Transfer Games Between PCs
While Xbox Game Pass is not the only option for this feature, and rivals like Steam and Epic Games also offer it, there's something unique about it here. When you switch your gaming from one PC to another, you don't need to find and install a dozen different apps to look after your games and make them run. Xbox Game Pass really does look after the lot, and it does it in quite a magical way.
When moving to a new computer, it is likely that it will already be set up with an Xbox app. And if the new PC has an internet connection, that's the very first thing I'm going to do anyway. The Xbox app install is very straightforward, as is Game Pass. If you already have a subscription, sign in, and great! Every game that is in the Game Pass library is now available on the device you just installed the app on.
The main reason Xbox Game Pass is the best platform right now is the overall integration of performance.