What Is Xbox Games Pass and How Does It Work?

What is Xbox Game Pass? Xbox Games Pass is the Xbox subscription service (with currently over 15 million subscribers) that gives gamers access to an increasingly large games library (currently over 200), that you can download and play on an Xbox One, the Xbox Series X/S and also Xbox Game Pass for PC. This article will go into more detail about the Xbox Games Pass, such as price, features (Xbox All Access) and the Xbox Game Pass list of available games.

How Does it Work?

Once you have subscribed to Xbox Game Pass you can start downloading games from the library and play them for as long as you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. In Xbox Game Pass, new games are added on a regular basis, with Microsoft exclusives for the Xbox Series X/S being released immediately on Game Pass (for example, Halo Infinite will be available on day one). The games library includes titles from the Original Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and the Xbox Series X/S. There are no differences in the functionalities of the Xbox One Game Pass and Xbox Series X/S Game Pass versions.

How Much is Xbox Game Pass?

So what is the Xbox Game Pass price? There are several different subscription options available. You can choose the Xbox Game Pass for consoles, or Xbox Game Pass PC alone for $9.99 per month, or the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate version for $14.99. If you prefer not to have a monthly subscription, you can also choose to purchase a Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12 Month, 3 Month or 1 Month digital code through Amazon.

Does Xbox Game Pass Include Xbox Live?

Yes, with the Ultimate subscription you also get Xbox Live Gold. It also includes Deals with Gold, Games with Gold and multiplayer. A standalone Xbox Live Gold subscription costs $9.99 per month, whereas the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price is only $14.99 per month. This means that Ultimate is a hell of a deal.

Xbox All Access

If you are planning on purchasing either the Xbox Series X or the Series S you can do so with the financing option where you pay $34.99 per month for the Series X and receive the console and a subscription to Xbox Game Pass over 24 months. If you want the Series S, you can pay $24.99 monthly with Xbox Game Pass included also. This is being called Xbox All Access.

Xbox Game Pass Features

Xbox Live Gold included (only Ultimate).

EA Play Membership (giving you access to EA games such as Fifa, NHL, Star Wars Battlefront etc).

200 Xbox Game Pass games with more coming.

Brand New Microsoft games will be added on Day 1 of their release. (Halo Infinite, Avowed, Fable etc).

Cross-platform play.

Cloud Gaming with games pass ultimate - play 100’s of games on your Android device from the cloud. Project xCloud.

Member discounts.

Xbox Games Pass is also available for PC.

How To Get Xbox Game Pass?

You can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass here on the Xbox website, or on your Xbox console directly.

How to Cancel Xbox Game Pass?

The fastest way to cancel your Xbox Game Pass subscription is by doing this through your console. Press the Xbox button on your controller and head to Profile & System > Settings. From here, select Account > Subscriptions and choose the subscription you want to cancel.

If I Stop My Subscription, Can I Still Play the Games?

No, once you end your subscription, any games that you have downloaded with the Xbox Game Pass will no longer be available to play. You can begin playing them again if you resubscribe.

What Are the Best Games on Xbox Game Pass?

You can see the full Xbox Game Pass library here. This is a small selection of the games that you can expect to play.

Sea of Thieves

Halo Master Chief Collection

Forza Horizon 4

Rocket Arena

PES 20

Fallout 4

Halo Wars 2

Minecraft

Minecraft Dungeons

Gears 5

Need For Speed Heat

NHL 21

Battlefield V

Fifa 21

Star Wars Battlefront 2

The Sims

Note: Microsoft has recently purchased Bethesda game studios, possibly giving priority to new releases such as Starfield, Elder Scrolls 6 and other Bethesda releases.

Photo: © Microsoft, Xbox.