Can someone explain all the various subscriptions?

[Rick Dangerous]

I'm just trying to straighten out in my head everything that is available and how much it all costs.

 

-Xbox live, to play online?

 

-Xbox Game Pass, for access to 100 games, that change intermittently?

 

What else am i missing, i feel like there are 3-4 of these various services per console these days plus usually some kind of bundle of them all. 

 

Thanks. 

[Rick Dangerous]

Okay found it; looks like Live Gold is $9.99 month, Gamepass is $14.99 month and includes Live.

 

So i think that's it for Xbox, Online (Live) , Games (Gamepass), and it looks like their is some game streaming service in Beta also but it's part of Gamepass currently; so you can pay to beta test it before they start charging extra for it! lol 

 

 

[Rick Dangerous]

$180 a year seems steep to me; but i guess if you do that instead of buying physical games it's probably equivalent. 

[MrMaddog]

On 4/19/2021 at 1:38 PM, Rick Dangerous said:

$180 a year seems steep to me; but i guess if you do that instead of buying physical games it's probably equivalent. 

$180 is worth about 3 physical games, compared to the number of games available on Game Pass for the whole year.  Plus for me it's easier to pay $15 a month instead of doing a yearly subscription (like I did with Live Gold) or save up to preorder a game that ends up being a buggy stinker.

Edited April 20, 2021 by MrMaddog

[Rick Dangerous]

"Starting April 21, online multiplayer for free-to-play Xbox games will no longer require a paid subscription "

 

Pretty big news IMO; what Free-to-Play game is closest to PUBG?  I'm guessing it's COD: Warzone.

 

I'm hoping eventually that playing online becomes fully free again; as the game subscription services become the main bread and butter of these companies. 

 

I wonder which other games are worth playing and aren't too "loot box" heavy:

 

Free to Play Games | Xbox

[HammR25]

Currently the best deal on an Xbox subscription is to transfer 3 years worth of Xbox Live Gold on your account over to Game Pass Ultimate for $1.

 

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/gold/upgrade

 

When I did it I found Xbox Live Gold codes on sale online, bought 2 of them and added them into my account to go with the year I already had and then did the $1 deal.  Buying 3 years at a time only works if you don't already have a gold subscription.  MS won't allow you to go over 3 years of subscription at one time.  

 

I use Game Pass some and have found a few games I wouldn't have found otherwise but overall it's not something I would personally keep.

 

 

 

 

[rubeon]

I recommend getting an Xbox and Game Pass Ultimate, because that is is basically Amazon Prime for gaming. Bonus: You can find deals on 12-month subscriptions that make it less expensive.

 

You get unlimited multiplayer and vault games (MS and EA Access) on both the Xbox and Windows 10 PC, should you have one.

 

Triple-A MS games (including Halo/Gears/etc. and notably the recent acquisitions like Bethesda) are just there on day one.

 

Every time you play a AAA game on game pass you save like 60 bucks, so factor in the costs.

[digdugnate]

I ended up with GamePass Ultimate from a package deal on our Series X- love it, love it, love it!

[StormSurge]

Microsoft Rewards pays for my GamePass Ultimate subscription every year. 

[slab0meat]

GamePass Ultimate has allowed me to try a ton of games I never thought I would.. and some of them I've liked a lot.

 

And when I didn't, uninstall and move on, no loss.  I love it.

 

[King_Salamon]

Just ordered a Series X but have had Game Pass Ultimate for a couple years now I think.  When you take out the cost of XBox Live from the annual cost of Game Pass Ultimate it makes it pretty reasonable... especially when you have a kid downloading all the games to try out (I haven't bought a game in a long while).  I'm looking forward to playing The Ascent next month.  Should be interesting (it was the only thing in the lead up to the release of the console that had my interest).

 

 

[Jagosaurus]

Don't forget All Access which is:

 

Game Pass Ultimate + console hardware rental at 0% APR

 

I did the math, you basically get 45 days free of game pass or save ~20 bucks.

 

Halo Infinite multiplayer being free to play, no XBL Gold required is huge.... 

[King_Salamon]

8 hours ago, Jagosaurus said:

Don't forget All Access which is:

 

Game Pass Ultimate + console hardware rental at 0% APR

 

I did the math, you basically get 45 days free of game pass or save ~20 bucks.

 

Halo Infinite multiplayer being free to play, no XBL Gold required is huge.... 

It's not hardware rental though.. it's a loan basically where you make payments and then you get to keep the system.  I was about to do this option last week but ebgames in Canada sold out of the systems (likely due to the E3 showing by MS the days prior).  I was fortunate enough to snap up a system yesterday as Microsoft had some systems on their webstore.  They sold their allotment in an hour or so.

[Jagosaurus]

Yeah, was referring to more the monthly, own at end. It's 0% APR financing. I read the fine print, it's actually financed by Citizens Bank on back end. 

 

On electronics, most people view that as rent to own from the old Conn's or Aaron's model, which is similar... don't forget your bank owns your car & house until paid off, not you ?.

 

Either way, seems like a great deal. Reminds me of how cell phone carriers will just spread your phone hardware cost out over the term with no interest. That's what Verizon does anyway. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Jagosaurus