Microsoft has recently made a huge announcement regarding Xbox-oriented rewards and loyalty program, which ties into the wider Microsoft Rewards ecosystem.
'Rewards with Xbox' is a free program Microsoft introduced in 2013 that allows players to earn special Microsoft Points through gaming on Xbox consoles. Players can then use these Microsoft Points to obtain free Xbox games, Xbox gift cards, additional Xbox Game Pass time, and much more via Microsoft Rewards.
However, on January 7, 2025, this program will be reimagined (via Xbox) to include new ways to earn Microsoft Points such as more Game Pass Quests, making it available on the PC Game Pass for the first time. Here's everything you need to know about the new 'Reward with Xbox' system.
'Rewards with Xbox' arrives on PC Game Pass
First off on the list of improvements coming to 'Rewards with Xbox' is that it will be made available on the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 and 10 for the first time. The ability to view your progress was previously only available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on Xbox consoles and mobile devices. This means that Xbox players can complete Game Pass Quests by playing games via Windows PC and PC Game Pass on top of playing console and xCloud.
To access Game Pass Quests to earn Microsoft Points, head over to your Xbox profile via console or the Xbox app on your Windows PC or mobile device, access the Rewards Hub, and start playing. You can also earn points for Microsoft Rewards by using Bing and Microsoft Edge, among other things. Head over to Rewards.Microsoft.com to sign up.
New types of Game Pass Quests to reward more Microsoft Points
Next up is that Microsoft has reinvented Game Pass Quest to make easier to complete, more fun to partake in, and more "enticing" by rewarding players with more Microsoft Points. Additionally, these new Game Pass Quests will be available to Japan for the first time on January 7, 2025.
Here's a rundown how the types of Game Pass Quests you will expect to see going forward:
- Daily Play – Earn 10 Microsoft Points a day by playing any title available on Xbox Game Pass for at least 15 minutes.
- Weekly Streaks – Play Xbox games for at least five days a week to complete a streak. The more days you play, the more points you can collect. If you can maintain your play-time streak for weeks, you can unlock point multipliers to earn even more Microsoft points. A 2-week streak will net you two times the base streak points, a 3-week will net you three times the base streak points, and going beyond a 4-week streak will only net you 4x the base streak points.
- Monthly 4-Pack – Earn Microsoft Points by playing four different Xbox games available on Xbox Game Pass for at least 15 minutes each.
- Monthly 8-Pack – Earn Microsoft Points by playing eight different Xbox games available on Xbox Game Pass for at least 15 minutes each.
The third big change coming for 'Rewards with Xbox' is that it will provide new ways to earn Microsoft Points for all players. When the update goes live on January 7, 2025, all 'Rewards with Xbox' members aged 18 and over will be able to access the new PC Weekly Bonus feature which will reward them 150 points when playing Xbox games for over 5 days (for at least 15 minutes per day).
Additionally, Microsoft is rebalancing points from the current Console Weekly Bonus to 150 points and the Daily PC Play to 10 points.
Rewards with Xbox picks up an age restriction
Finally, Microsoft has announced that starting from today, earning points with 'Rewards with Xbox' program will only be made available to Xbox players aged 18 and over. This means that the Rewards Hub will no longer be accessible on Xbox consoles or the Xbox app via PC or mobile to players under the age of 18.
However, this upcoming update will not impact existing Rewards and Microsoft Points players have previously earned. If you're a young player aged under 18 that has accumulated Microsoft Points before this update, you will still be able to collect more of them through parentally approved purchases of eligible items on the Microsoft Store, eligible searches on Microsoft Bing, and non-gameplay activities like completing the Microsoft Rewards Daily Set Quest.
Microsoft Rewards is an underrated ecosystem feature
Microsoft is certainly kicking off 2025 with a bang with this extremely generous New Year's present for Xbox players. With this newly improved 'Rewards with Xbox' system, players will no doubt be incentivized more than ever to play the best Xbox games and the best PC games the Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC has to offer so they can earn free games for their gigantic, ever-growing collection of Xbox titles.
Microsoft Rewards remains one of Microsoft's best-kept secrets, and was originally envisioned as a way to reward Bing users for supporting the search engine. As you know, a search engine is only as good as the data it gets from users who actually use the service. With Google dominating, Rewards has been a good incentive to shift at least some users across. Perhaps now it's Xbox's turn to help with that effort, too.
