6 reasons why users stick with Xbox Game Pass

Having a huge game library can help save a lot of money. This is a difficult problem often encountered when buying new games. 

It's not perfect, but there are many reasons why users continue to subscribe to their Xbox Game Pass.

1. Offers incredible value for the money

Xbox Game Pass is a game subscription that costs $1 for the first 14 days and then $9.99/month for the regular plan and $13.99 for Game Pass Ultimate.

For that price, users get access to more than 400 PC games. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II costs $49.99 for PC or console, but with Game Pass, users can play it for $9.99, along with every other game in Microsoft's library.

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Most games typically sell for around $50 to $60, with newer games often priced higher. It's easy to overinvest hundreds or even thousands of dollars in a game library if you're not careful.

That doesn't mean Game Pass will help cover every new game; You will still have to spend hundreds of dollars to get some special games. However, Game Pass can easily control that cost, especially with its ever-growing library that often includes new games on launch day.

Add to that the membership deals and discounts that Xbox Game Pass subscribers receive, and $9.99/month is very reasonable. Registration also varies by market.

2. Get early access to the game

Another big reason why many people are sticking with Xbox Game Pass is the early access it gives to select titles, especially EA games where EA Play is also part of Game Pass. Whether it's EA's FC franchise or something like Hellblade II, chances are if you're an Xbox Game Pass subscriber you'll be playing a new game sooner than everyone else. Another example of this is Starfield, which offers 5 days early access to Game Pass subscribers.

Now, this doesn't happen with every new release, but Game Pass has enough major releases to make the feature worthwhile. Note that this also applies to game previews, as you can often find demos and previews for games coming to Game Pass.

3. Helps evaluate playing habits

Having hundreds of games available to play without spending a dime is really helpful when you want to evaluate your playing habits. If you usually play a specific type of game and want to try a new one, you don't need to buy a separate game to try everything. Chances are the game you want to try is already on Game Pass.

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Even if you don't have one, you can still try downloading similar games to see if purchasing the game is worth the effort. There's no point buying a $60 game only to find out an hour later that you don't really like it. Sure, you can get a refund if you play on Steam, but Game Pass offers a much easier alternative to trying out different games and finding one you like.

4. Can play with friends on console

Even though the PC gaming community is by far the largest in the world, many people still love their Xbox. Game Pass eliminates the common game search process to enable cross-platform titles to be downloaded and played.

Now, you can get around this limitation if you're playing on PC, but your console friends will have to have Xbox Game Pass, just like PlayStation players must have PlayStation Plus. The only difference is that a PlayStation subscription is locked to the console, whereas with Game Pass Ultimate you can play on PC, Xbox, phone, and even the cloud.

5. EA Play helps save costs

With every game maker now offering their own subscription services, the whole thing can get out of hand very quickly. Luckily, if you play EA games, especially one of the recurring titles like FC, Madden, F1 or Cricket, you can get access to these games with the included EA Play subscription.

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You get two subscriptions for the cost of one, and EA Play really makes a difference. In addition to getting early access to EA games, you often get discounts and offers, meaning you get games for less. Additionally, with EA Play's recent price increase, you may not want to resubscribe as a standalone subscription.

Some EA titles had limited access or were only demos from the start, such as FC24, which appeared in Game Pass for some time after the game was released. But you still get discounts, meaning you can try out the game and buy it cheaper if you want.

6. It's easy to transfer games between PCs

Now, this feature isn't necessarily unique to Xbox Game Pass, and if using something like Steam or Epic, transferring games between PCs is also very easy. But the ability to move to another computer, log into the Xbox app, and click the download button to get all your games and progress back is a nice thing to have.

Xbox Game Pass here has an advantage over game launchers like Steam or Epic because it does not require the installation of any external applications. If you're moving to a new computer, chances are it already has the Xbox app. You also don't have to navigate through complicated folder structures to find where your games are saved, so moving files locally via USB is a breeze.

Game Pass is very well integrated into Windows, and that's one of the main reasons why it performs better than the competition. Xbox Game Pass is a subscription that has become a must-have for many people's gaming experiences.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 14 July 2024