What the heck is Game Pass?
Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to a game library for a monthly fee. Rather than paying for each game you want to play, you pay a small fee per month for unlimited access to a catalog of games. You can play these games all you like. Paying the subscription fee allows you to download games to your Xbox One and play them like you would any other game you purchased. Game Pass can only be used on the Xbox One system.
How many games are available?
As of July 12, 2017, there are 119 games available in the catalog. They aren’t all Xbox One games. You’ll see some big-name games here like the entire Gears of War series, Halo 5: Guardians, all three BioShock games, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, and more. The list is rounded out with older Xbox 360 games and smaller indie games. A new perk is that Xbox exclusives like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 (…if it even gets released) are all available on launch day.
What does it cost?
For $10 per month, you get access to a catalog of games and you can download and play them all you want on your Xbox One. There is even a 14-day free trial to get you started.
Is it worth it?
Whether Xbox Game Pass is worth it is a tough question. If you have a lot of time and want to play a lot of games, you’ll get a month of access to over 100 games for $10, and that’s quite the deal.
Some factors:
- How many of those games do you really want to play?
- How fast will you play them?
- How much hard drive space you have?
The real issue here is that Xbox Game Pass largely gives you access to older games. You can often pick up used copies of these older games for very low prices, so that $10 a month may not be quite as awesome as it seems. Having the new exclusives available on launch day is a great incentive for players that tear through games in a few days and move on to a new one. Xbox Game Pass looks to a be a great value for hardcore gamers.
If you often take more than a few weeks to finish the game, it’s likely less expensive to simply buy a used copy and play it at your leisure. So, is Game Pass the worth it? It’s up to you. Give it try! If nothing else, you can play some games for free for two weeks.
