Xbox and PC Game Pass FAQ guide: Price, features, Ultimate, Standard, Core, Cloud, and everything you must know

Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix-like all you can eat subscription service for Microsoft's big gaming operation. Now armed with games from Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax Media, and Activision-Blizzard, the service stands to become an incredible vehicle for saving money on games like Call of Duty, Diablo, DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, Forza, and much, much more. 

There are a variety of other perks baked into Xbox Game Pass on top, too. Hundreds of games on PC Game Pass for example, third-party services like EA Access. Cloud gaming access on TVs, web browsers, and mobile devices. Characters in Riot games like League of Legends and Valorant. Perks on services like Discord. And exclusive discounts across a huge variety of games. 

In this huge Xbox, PC, and cloud Game Pass FAQ, we'll breakdown how much everything will cost, the features per plan, alongside some hints about what the future of the service might look like. 

Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service serves a huge library of varied titles for a monthly fee. From hit franchises to experimental indies, Xbox Game Pass has value for all.

Buy from: Amazon | CDKeys

What is Xbox Game Pass?

At its core, Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service with multiple tiers that gives gamers on Xbox consoles, PC, and mobile devices access to a vast library of games to download and play for as long as they continue to pay for the service. A similar example would be Netflix in essence, except you also have the option to buy games to permanently own on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. 

• Xbox Game Pass has several tiers. The cheapest is Xbox Game Pass Core, designed for console gamers who just want premium online multiplayer. 
• PC Game Pass is a separate service for Windows devices, offering games on PCs. 
• Xbox Game Pass Standard gets you a huge library of games on Xbox consoles, as well as premium multiplayer. However, it doesn't come with day one games premium Xbox exclusive titles. 
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets you all of the above, as well as day-one premium games like Call of Duty, and cloud gaming access. 
• An old tier, dubbed Xbox Game Pass Console, has been deprecated. It's still available for current subscribers as long as their subscriptions remain active. It is no longer available for new users. 
• Microsoft raised the prices of Xbox Game Pass in July 2024, citing market conditions. 

Xbox Game Pass incorporates hundreds of games, with different libraries available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles, Windows PCs, and cloud-based streaming games via the web, and via touch or Bluetooth controllers on Android from the Xbox Game Pass app. The service is now also available on Amazon Fire Stick 4K devices, as well as Samsung TVs via their Gaming Hub.

While subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, you get access to all of these games as if you have full license entitlement. Players on your Xbox can also access the same titles, as long as you're signed into your account. It makes it a great way to share a large library of games with your family at home. 

You can sign up on the console or on the Microsoft website. Once you're subscribed, you can manage your subscription from your console, too. On the latest versions of the OS, Game Pass has its own tab inside "My games and apps" and games can be installed directly from here without needing to go to the store.

Xbox Game Pass: Plans and costs compared

Microsoft has raised the price of Xbox Game Pass as of September 2024, while also removing the old Xbox Game Pass Console tier. 

Microsoft has reorganized how the tiers work to some degree, placing all of the value on the $19.99 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier at the high end. This tier, alongside PC Game Pass, nets you day one access to games published by Microsoft, including hotly anticipated upcoming Xbox games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Avowed, and Fable. 

The new Xbox Game Pass "Standard" tier for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles will only get new Xbox-published games after an indeterminate amount of time, which could be anywhere up to 12 months. This could be shorter for games that could use the boost from a larger audience and pool of players, but it could be longer for games like Call of Duty, which still rely heavily on retail sales for their business models. 

The plans breakdown as follows. 

Xbox Game Pass Core costs $9.99 a month, although its all-inclusive Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier pushes up to $19.99 a month. In some locations, you can buy codes for multiple months in one go, often with promotions and discounts to consider. The new Xbox Game Pass Core costs $9.99 month, but you can save money if you buy codes by the year, at $59.99 generally. Xbox Game Pass Core just gives you multiplayer access on premium titles like Call of Duty, but free to play multiplayer games like Fortnite do not require a subscription to play anymore. Xbox Game Pass Core has a small library of over 30 classic Xbox games, just to give users a taste of what the higher Xbox Game Pass tiers offer. 

Xbox Game Pass Standard gives you hundreds of games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles for $14.99. However, Standard no longer includes all of Xbox's day one games. Games like Fable, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, and future Forza, Halo, and The Elder Scrolls titles will hit the service anywhere up to 12 months after launch. It does include premium multiplayer, though. 

There's also PC Game Pass which gives you a similar number of games for $10.99 too. It also gives you the day one Xbox published titles, unlike Xbox Game Pass Standard for console. 

If you're a heavy user, the best value option is probably Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you the full library of over 300 games, for Xbox One, Series X|S, and PC. It also gives you cloud gaming access, bundling touch titles on mobile devices, and making games playable on your TV without a console via the Amazon Fire Stick 4K or Samsung TV gaming hub. It also adds in Xbox network console multiplayer, for $19.99 a month. But wait, there's more!

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also bundles in EA Play, which includes a library of games from EA's back catalog. EA Play also includes 10 hour "trials" to its latest games, which is a nice benefit too. It also includes Riot Games access, including all characters for League of Legends and Valorant on PC and Xbox, as well as the mobile versions of their games. Ultimate also has "perks," which include free gifts and trials for things like Disney+ or Discord Nitro. It's a very good deal, but only if you plan to use it frequently. If all you play is FIFA or Call of Duty or tend to stick to one game for several weeks or months at a time like Diablo IV or Fortnite, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate might not be worth it overall. For variety gamers, though, it's an absolute must. 

There are also rumors that Microsoft was exploring a free or cheaper tier of Xbox Game Pass, which would reward users with game time in exchange for watching ads, although these concepts seem explorative rather than a definitive. We've also reported that Microsoft is exploring a cloud-only tier for Xbox Game Pass, which would come in cheaper than buying the full-fat Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We'll keep an eye on these developments, and be sure to let you know. 

What about an Xbox Game Pass family plan?

We exclusively reported that an Xbox Game Pass Family Plan is indeed on the way, subject to negotiations with Microsoft's publisher partners. Microsoft later confirmed it, and begun testing the Family Plan in Ireland and Colombia, before being phased out for a rethink, of sorts. 

In an exclusive interview with us, Xbox lead Phil Spencer confirmed that the Family Plan will return in the future, although the timeline remains vague. We'll be sure to update you when we know more. 

The latest information suggests that Microsoft is still negotiating what the Family Plan will look like with its publishing partners, and hasn't yet given up on the concept. 

Xbox Game Pass: How many games are there?

At launch, there were over 100 games covering both Xbox One and Xbox 360 backward-compatible games in the catalog. Every month, new games are added, and it now even stretches to a selection of original Xbox backward-compatible titles. The best Xbox Game Pass games now include projects of all sizes and genres. Overall, there's well over 300 games in the service, depending on whether you're on Xbox, PC, or cloud, as the libraries vary slightly across platforms. 

Additionally, every new Microsoft first-party title will be added into Game Pass at launch. This includes recent games like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, and Starfield, as well as upcoming titles like Marvel's Blade. 

But just as games regularly enter the rotation, games also regularly leave Game Pass. Any non-Microsoft game will likely leave at some point, so you should treat it as such and play those you like the look of as soon as you can.

The complete list of Xbox Game Pass titles is linked below, and we update it every month with the latest titles. The catalog has a good selection of classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games that also work on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

RELATED: Full list of Xbox Game Pass titles: console, PC, and cloud

What's the deal with Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Core?

Previously, Microsoft's multiplayer subscription service was called Xbox Live Gold, which at $10 a month or $60 per year gave you access to multiplayer titles in premium games that you buy at retail, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, etc. However, you can now play free-to-play multiplayer games like Fortnite without paying for a subscription. 

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which costs $19.99 per month includes Xbox multiplayer as standard. Xbox Game Pass Standard, for $14.99, also includes Xbox multiplayer as standard. Standard, however, doesn't include day one Xbox published titles, and instead has more of a back catalog of 300-ish older titles. New games should enter the service after a period of between six and twelve months. 

Microsoft also debuted Xbox Game Pass Core in 2023, which replaces Xbox Live Gold. The service costs the same as Xbox Live Gold, but also includes a smaller library of Xbox Game Pass titles to give you a taster. 

What is Xbox Play Anywhere?

Xbox Play Anywhere is a program that gives players dual entitlement to the PC and Xbox console versions of a game with a single purchase. They also come with cross-platform save syncing as standard. If your "purchase" is via the Xbox Game Pass subscription, you benefit from the same progress syncing features. Even if you unsubscribe and lose access to the games, you won't lose access to your save. Cloud saves on Xbox are free forever. 

With an Xbox Game Pass subscription, PC gamers are able to play Xbox Play Anywhere titles, such as Sea of Thieves, without purchase if they have a Game Pass subscription on their Xbox console. Future first-party titles that are also Play Anywhere will also be included in the same way.

Games published by Microsoft as part of Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, or Activision-Blizzard are typically Xbox Play Anywhere as standard, meaning your save files transfer between console and PC seamlessly. There are some cross-progress and cross-play exceptions, however, like Fallout 76. Some games simply weren't designed with Xbox Play Anywhere in mind, making retroactive code updates difficult. Some games utilize their own cross-progression features, though. Diablo IV for example, uses Battle.net for its save syncing, rather than Xbox cloud saves. 

It should be noted that not every single game in Xbox Game Pass supports Xbox Play Anywhere between PC and Xbox consoles. But, games played via Xbox Cloud Gaming are on the same ecosystem as Xbox console gaming, meaning the saves transfer there seamlessly. If a game is Xbox Play Anywhere supported, it will say so in the Xbox app on PC, tagged with "Xbox cloud saves" or "Xbox Play Anywhere." 

Sadly it's not entirely clear at a glance which games are, or aren't supported with cross-platform progression or entitlement. 

How does Xbox Game Pass work on PC?

It is! There's also a dedicated PC Game Pass. It can be subscribed to on its own or as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes console, PC, and cloud gaming access. PC Game Pass also gets day one Xbox published titles, for $10.99 per month as of writing. 

PC Game Pass titles are installed via the Xbox app on Windows 10 and Windows 11, which should be preinstalled on most computers. Simply type "Xbox" into your Start Menu to find it if it's there, and then pin it to your taskbar or Start Menu for quick access by right clicking the icon. You can also download it from here.

The best thing about Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with Xbox and PC Game Pass is that it includes cloud saves as standard. For many games that are on both Xbox and console, it includes Xbox Play Anywhere progress save syncing. Start Monster Hunter Rise or Forza Motorsport on Xbox, and pick it up afterwards on your ASUS ROG Ally or gaming PC. Not all games support this, though, sadly. 

Note: An added benefit of PC Game Pass is integration with NVIDIA GeForce Now. If you're a user of NVIDIA GeForce Now cloud gaming, you can link your account to PC Game Pass, and take your PC Game Pass titles on the go via cloud streaming. 

Will I get a discount to buy the games if I like them?

Yep. Game Pass subscribers will get an exclusive discount to buy the games and related downloadable content (DLC) if you want to buy-to-own before the game leaves the service. 

How do I cancel Xbox Game Pass? And what happens if I do?

Games are available to play, in full, only for as long as you're a paying subscriber. If you cancel your subscription, you lose access to said games. You can purchase the games to own, though, with an included discount. 

It should be noted, though, if you're a current Xbox Game Pass Console tier subscriber: if you unsubscribe, you will permanently lose access to the tier. This tier is deprecated, and is slated for deletion in the future. Microsoft wants users on the Xbox Game Pass Console tier to move either to Xbox Game Pass Standard or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. 

You can cancel Xbox Game Pass easily over on Microsoft's account page website, in the subscriptions section. 

Note: Additionally, know that you won't lose your save games even if you cancel. 

What are Xbox Game Pass' supported countries?

The full list of Xbox / PC Game Pass countries currently reads as such: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

How does Xbox Cloud Gaming work?

From Sept. 15, 2020, Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming service (known as xCloud previously) became part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at $19.99. In 2024, the service has improved immeasurably in quality, and has become a truly viable and quite affordable way to game on the Xbox ecosystem. 

• Generally, you need an official Xbox Series X|S controller with Bluetooth to play Xbox Cloud Games regardless of platform, as well as the $19.99 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
• You can access Xbox Cloud Gaming titles via virtually any device, whether it's a phone, tablet, laptop, as well as many TV models. 
• There are also tons of great Xbox Cloud Gaming gamepads you can find here, designed for Android and iOS mobile devices. These devices can help eliminate controller latency too. Our favorite is the Razer Kishi Ultra. 
• You can play Xbox Cloud Gaming titles on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles via Xbox Game Pass, by hitting "Play" on the button with a cloud icon in your Games & Apps library. This lets you test a game without installing it natively. 
• Folks on iOS, Mac, Windows, and Linux can also take part with Xbox Game Streaming available through the browser at xbox.com/play on Microsoft Edge, or Chrome. 
• On Android and iOS, many games support touch controls. The web app and the Android app have a section for games that support touch, although support is limited. 
• Windows 10 and 11 users can also play through the Xbox app, by typing "Xbox" into the Start Menu. Right click and pin it to your task bar or Start Menu for easy access.
• Since summer 2024, Microsoft partnered with Amazon to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to the Amazon Fire Stick 4K line up, making it viable with any HDMI display. You simply connect your Xbox controller with Bluetooth to your Amazon Fire Stick, and you're good to go. 
• Xbox Cloud Gaming is also available as an app to download on many modern Samsung TVs, with direct Bluetooth to TV controller pairing. 

It adds another tick in the value box to Game Pass Ultimate over regular Game Pass, too. Games are added to the cloud library on a slightly different schedule to console and PC, but regular additions are coming along.

Additionally, Microsoft has been working on dedicated touch controls for some of these games allowing you to play on your phone or tablet without the need for a controller. Minecraft Dungeons was the first, but the feature has since come to titles such as Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Scarlet Nexus, Dead Cells, and various others. 

Microsoft is also thought to be working on a more affordable cloud-only tier for Xbox Game Pass users who don't want the full-fat Ultimate tier. Microsoft has also been working to bring the ability to buy Xbox games to own via cloud. Right now, you can only play games in cloud that are part of the active Xbox Game Pass library. Soon, you'll be able to purchase games to add to your cloud library on top. Microsoft may also bring the ability to stream PC games via its cloud service in the future, similar to competing NVIDIA GeForce Now. 

How to save money on Xbox Game Pass

Just because Xbox Game Pass is a monthly subscription doesn't mean you can't save some money on it. You just have to know where to look.

Xbox Game Pass subscriptions can be bought and applied to your account by way of a code, which can be bought from a number of third-party retailers. One good place to keep an eye on is Amazon, where deals are fairly common, including such offers as buy one, get one free on three-month subscription codes which have been known in the past.

Another retailer to check out is CDKeys where you can always save some money, including on three-month subscription codes.

And that's a wrap! 

This hopefully answers some of the questions you have about Xbox Game Pass, and we'll keep this post updated as any new information becomes available. 

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below. 

Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service serves a huge library of varied titles for a monthly fee. From hit franchises to experimental indies, Xbox Game Pass has value for all.

Buy from: Amazon | CDKeys