What Is Xbox Game Pass (Ultimate, Xbox Series X, PC): Price, Games List, And More

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is one of Microsoft's best offerings for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC as it provides a huge library of games for each platform. It also bundles services like Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, and xCloud game streaming. Of course, Microsoft's subscription service comes in two different tiers, so you don't need to pay for the Ultimate service if you only want a library of great games on a single platform. If you only want Xbox Game Pass for console or Xbox Game Pass for PC, then you can easily pay a smaller price for access to games alone. However, it's hard to deny the appeal of Game Pass Ultimate's multitude of offerings.

What is Xbox Game Pass?

Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One

The first subscription to consider is Xbox Game Pass for console, which encompasses Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. With it, you get access to a library of over 340 games, including all first-party Xbox titles as soon as they launch--in some cases, you even get the Ultimate edition of each game. At the moment, these include excellent exclusives like Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4, and Sea of Thieves as well as newer games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Grounded, and Gears Tactics. Classic games from series like Gears of War and Halo are also available through Game Pass.

New games are added and removed all the time. That means you lose access to some games once they leave Game Pass, but thankfully, all Game Pass subscribers get discounts on every game included with the service. Microsoft lets users know which games are leaving, giving you a chance to snag them at a discount before they're gone. First-party games like Gears 5 and Forza Horizon 4 don't generally get removed, so you don't have to worry about losing access to them. We've also highlighted the games we think you should play first in our guide to the best Xbox Game Pass games.

Xbox Game Pass for PC

Xbox Game Pass for PC works exactly like it does on the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. You get access to over 200 games every month and exclusive deals if you want to keep any of them after their removal. There are unique games on each platform, though much of the library does cross over. Almost all of Xbox's first-party titles are available on PC, including Gears Tactics.

Game Pass for PC offers quite a few titles that many would consider better on PC. These include games like Age of Empires Definitive Edition, Metro Exodus, and Prey. Of course, some games only come to console, even if they do have a great PC version. Microsoft's Game Pass announcements are always marked accordingly, so it's easy to tell what each platform is getting every month.

Xbox Game Pass price

Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One costs $10 USD / $12 CAD / £8 a month.

Xbox Game Pass for PC also goes for $10 USD / $12 CAD / £8 a month. However, at the moment, you can join Xbox Game Pass for PC with your first month only costing $1 / £1. Microsoft regularly discounts Game Pass, especially during big sale weeks like Black Friday, so you can often get great deals and add months to your subscription on the cheap.

What is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is aptly named as it's the ultimate subscription if you're an Xbox gamer. It comes with all of the benefits you could possibly want on Xbox and PC: huge game libraries for both platforms, Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, game streaming, and more. On top of that, Xbox Live Gold has its own set of bonuses, including free monthly games, online multiplayer, and exclusive deals and sales.

Because of Microsoft's Smart Delivery service, Xbox Series X|S owners are able to get the best version of any Game Pass game. If you buy one of the new consoles and get a Game Pass subscription, you'll already have a solid list of next-gen games to play from the jump.

EA Play

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate memberships include access to EA Play on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. EA Play is EA's own subscription gaming service, which includes a library of the publisher's games as well as trials of its new releases. These games include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Titanfall 2, and Star Wars Battlefront II as well as a large number of backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games. The Battlefield, Need For Speed, and Mass Effect series are also featured.

The cool thing about EA Play's trials is that you can play the allotted time--normally about 10 hours--and then continue your progress by purchasing the game if you like it. At times, EA will also give Play members access to specific betas and demos. At the moment, it has over 90 games available through its service.

At the moment, EA Play is only available on console for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, but on December 15, users will get access to EA Play's PC counterpart, Origin Access.

Game streaming

One of the coolest recent additions to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is free access to Microsoft's cloud gaming service. Currently available on Android but expanding to other devices in 2021, the service lets you play any of your Game Pass games on your phone, and you can use either a traditional controller or touch controls. Though iOS is currently not supported because of Apple's store policies, Microsoft is planning a browser-based solution that should let those users stream games next year.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price

At this moment, you can get a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 / £1 for your first month. Of course, this limited-time deal is only available to new subscribers. The regular cost of a monthly subscription is $15 USD / $17 CAD / £11.

Xbox Game Pass games list

There are hundreds of games available on Xbox Game Pass at any one time, including new titles such as Gears Tactics on Xbox Series X. And there is much more to check out on both consoles and PC--some of the latest releases are pictured below, but you can also see the full Xbox Game Pass list here.