Xbox Game Pass for PC going up in Price

[Quinnell]

 

 

Summary

Microsoft has announced that it Xbox Game Pass for PC will be leaving beta next week and going up in price.  They've confirmed US pricing will be increasing to $9.99/month.  

 

Quotes

Quote

Xbox Game Pass for PC has been bizarrely cheap since it launched into beta last year: an initial $1 trial month rolled into a $5 per month subscription, which was more than worth it for a library of over 100 games. But all good things must come to an end, and starting next week, Xbox Game Pass for PC will exit beta and its monthly price will double.
 

It's not unexpected: the $5 per month was always a limited offer and the usual $10 a month (AU$10.95) is about what you'd expect to pay for a subscription service. For reference, in the US Netflix Standard is $13, and Spotify is $10. 
[...]
The price increase coincides with (but is probably not related to) the addition of EA Play to Xbox Game Pass for PC. That means the service automatically includes whatever is in EA's vault: stuff like The Sims, Mass Effect, Battlefield and more. It's part of Microsoft's big next-gen Xbox info blow out this week, which has seen an official price and release date for its flagship Xbox Series X console.

 

 

 

My thoughts

While I am a bit disappointed in the increase in price, I guess it makes sense especially when considering the recent addition of EA Play titles to the Xbox Game Pass.  

 

Sources

PC Gamer
Twitter

[WaggishOhio383]

I've always been more of a "buy the games I like when they're on sale" kind of guy. I'll take a free trial of game pass when it comes up, but I don't like the idea of having to keep paying monthly to play a game I like. Sure you can just buy the game if you decide you like it, but then you've wasted the money you were paying to play the game monthly up until that point.

 

I suppose the same mentality could be applied to things like Spotify premium though ("just buy the songs you like"). But I listen to new songs almost every day as opposed to the maybe once a month or two I try a new game (and a lot of the time it's a free game).

[Slottr]

23 minutes ago, WaggishOhio383 said:

but I don't like the idea of having to keep paying monthly to play a game I like

Microsoft gives you a good discount on a game if it's leaving gamepass, plus a timely notification of such.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, Slottr said:

Microsoft gives you a good discount on a game if it's leaving gamepass, plus a timely notification of such.

But I think it would be cool if Microsoft just gave you the game for free if it was something you played religiously for a number of years. 

[Dietrichw]

36 minutes ago, WaggishOhio383 said:

I've always been more of a "buy the games I like when they're on sale" kind of guy. I'll take a free trial of game pass when it comes up, but I don't like the idea of having to keep paying monthly to play a game I like. Sure you can just buy the game if you decide you like it, but then you've wasted the money you were paying to play the game monthly up until that point.

 

I suppose the same mentality could be applied to things like Spotify premium though ("just buy the songs you like"). But I listen to new songs almost every day as opposed to the maybe once a month or two I try a new game (and a lot of the time it's a free game).

It makes sense for the type of games that are only played through once, such as single player story games. When it was first launched I used it during summer when I had time to play games and completed 6 games. A monthly subscription for games is a great deal for college students that don't have time to play during the semester but can play during breaks.

[Fasterthannothing]

I got 3 years worth for $1 + Xbox live cost so $181 total which is $5 per month but locked in for 3 years greatest deal ever.

[Shreyas1]

Good thing I saw this coming and purchased a 12 month ahead of time 

 

honestlu not surprised, Gamepass has a huge amount of value in the amount of games it gives access to, I can see why MS would want to milk it a bit more 

[Ryzza5]

If all I did was play games this would still be a great deal.  The problem is now that I have the money, I don't have the time, so just stick to 2 or 3 games for a number of months, and so the monthly subscriptions don't seem too useful to me.  That's half the reason why I prefer PC gaming compared to paying for PS+ or XBL Gold annually and then using it a handful of times.

 

That said, the next time a new Forza game is released for $100 - $150 or so, I'll think about the subscription offer once again a lot more seriously.

[WereCatf]

7 hours ago, WaggishOhio383 said:

I've always been more of a "buy the games I like when they're on sale" kind of guy. I'll take a free trial of game pass when it comes up, but I don't like the idea of having to keep paying monthly to play a game I like. Sure you can just buy the game if you decide you like it, but then you've wasted the money you were paying to play the game monthly up until that point.

Me, I am not in the habit of playing most games multiple times over a long period of time, so that isn't an issue for me. I typically play through a game once, then move on to the next, so Game Pass is perfectly good for my needs.

6 hours ago, Dietrichw said:

It makes sense for the type of games that are only played through once, such as single player story games.

Yup. I am one of those weirdos who don't play all those billions of trendy multiplayer CoDses, Forkknives etc. I love having a story to play through and experience, but those types of games don't typically give you much on the second run, let alone on any subsequent ones, so playing through them once is fine.

[EChondo]

I started paying for Game Pass on PC last month. I've been enjoying the service, but if it's going to be $10 a month, then they need to improve the app tremendously.

 

Games deleting/reinstalling themselves is still a huge issue and Microsoft's response is "it's in beta". So is this going to be fixed? Will games not completely brick a hard drive when you reinstall Windows and have to force a format of the drive just to use it again?

 

I mean it's a cool service especially with EA games going to be included(if you're interested in that), but that isn't coming until the "Holidays".

 

So, why the price increase right now? What's coming on the 17th to justify this? Because the app is still a mess and there's seemingly nothing being added at the moment to justify a price increase.

[Mister Woof]

I like the service. It's a great way to play some games you wouldn't otherwise give a second thought to because of more prohibitive pricetags, but is a lot easier to say "i guess so its just bandwidth" and only to find you love it.

[WereCatf]

9 minutes ago, EChondo said:

Will games not completely brick a hard drive when you reinstall Windows and have to force a format of the drive just to use it again?

What? Can you explain what the heck you're talking about?

[EChondo]

1 hour ago, WereCatf said:

What? Can you explain what the heck you're talking about?

 

Sure. Two+ hard drive system(one for boot, one for games)

 

1. Install games on secondary drive

2. Eventually reinstall Windows on main drive due to general Windows getting buggy/unstable and needs a refresh

3a. Games previously installed on secondary drive can't be "found"/used by new Windows installation.

3b. Also can't delete games due to encryption and permission issues

4. Either format the entire second drive just to remove the broken games OR run a Linux live USB and force delete directories

 

This happened to me. And this has happened to many other people as well.

 

It's not a HUGE deal, but it is certainly a very annoying inconvenience. I now have a dedicated Windows Store/Xbox App game drive that I can just wipe when I reinstall Windows.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, EChondo said:

SNIP

Mm, okay. That clarifies what you meant. Yes, I agree that that's annoying.

[Master Delta Chief]

6 hours ago, EChondo said:

I started paying for Game Pass on PC last month. I've been enjoying the service, but if it's going to be $10 a month, then they need to improve the app tremendously.

The fact that it is linked to the MS Store makes things a bit worse considering it's reputation it has on being buggy as well. I hope they get the Game Pass onto Steam like EA did for their own service one day.

[Mark Kaine]

5 hours ago, EChondo said:

Sure. Two+ hard drive system(one for boot, one for games)

 

1. Install games on secondary drive

2. Eventually reinstall Windows on main drive due to general Windows getting buggy/unstable and needs a refresh

3a. Games previously installed on secondary drive can't be "found"/used by new Windows installation.

3b. Also can't delete games due to encryption and permission issues

4. Either format the entire second drive just to remove the broken games OR run a Linux live USB and force delete directories

 

This happened to me. And this has happened to many other people as well.

 

It's not a HUGE deal, but it is certainly a very annoying inconvenience. I now have a dedicated Windows Store/Xbox App game drive that I can just wipe when I reinstall Windows.

To me this is actually a huge deal hence I don't have any microsoft games (or apps) from ms store and neither a ms account...

 

That there isn't really anything that interests me helps of course but it's kinda a chicken and egg thing also.  

[EChondo]

5 hours ago, WereCatf said:

Mm, okay. That clarifies what you meant. Yes, I agree that that's annoying.

No problem, I was a bit direct in my first post, so clarification probably was needed haha...yeah it's a huge issue and it's all because of the way MS handles their game installations. It's very draconian.

 

59 minutes ago, Master Delta Chief said:

The fact that it is linked to the MS Store makes things a bit worse considering it's reputation it has on being buggy as well. I hope they get the Game Pass onto Steam like EA did for their own service one day.

GP on Steam would solve 99% of the problems, so I would love that. But MS would need to release a lot more of their own games on Steam first, otherwise GP would only give you Gears 5 and Halo MCC haha.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

To me this is actually a huge deal hence I don't have any microsoft games (or apps) from ms store and neither a ms account...

 

That there isn't really anything that interests me helps of course but it's kinda a chicken and egg thing also.  

I already had an account due to Xbox Live and all back in the Xbox 360 days. However I too have zero games or apps bought from the MS ecosystem on PC.

 

I also would NEVER buy anything from MS digitally. GP is the exception, and it is a very nice one, since I can subscribe for a month, play some exclusives, then never renew when I'm done with the game.

 

But like you said, if the service doesn't have games and/or doesn't work, then why even bother with it? It's very sad to see that Microsoft still has issues managing games on PC. GFWL flashbacks all day everyday...

[PlayStation 2]

Microsoft still has some work to do with integrating the Microsoft Store and the Xbox services (and the UWP, as a matter of fact) on Windows. 

I've never had any trouble with it on my setups, but my brother did, where anything that was a UWP app just didn't function and couldn't work, leading to a hasty reinstall of Windows on that desktop. Needless to say, I don't think Windows is there just yet to take Xbox Game Pass for PC out of beta.

[WereCatf]

17 minutes ago, EChondo said:

But MS would need to release a lot more of their own games on Steam first, otherwise GP would only give you Gears 5 and Halo MCC haha.

But Game Pass includes a lot more than just Microsoft's own games.

[Doobeedoo]

Subscriptions in general  ot worth it for me. If I cared about every game maybe. But only picking certain games throughout the year, zero reason then. 

[EChondo]

On 9/12/2020 at 6:59 AM, WereCatf said:

But Game Pass includes a lot more than just Microsoft's own games.

Yes, on the Microsoft Store, however they can't include non-Microsoft games on Game Pass on Steam.

 

Look at EA's "EA Play" subscription on Steam, it doesn't even come close to the amount of games it includes on Origin for the same subscription. Hell here is an image someone on Reddit made that shows the difference of EA Play on the different platforms and the two consoles;

 

 

It's a licensing issue. EA and Microsoft cannot license all their 3rd party games on other platforms. The only way to get a lot of games would be if Steam created a Steam Pass or something that would probably include all of Valve's games and then an assortment of 3rd party publisher/dev games.

[WereCatf]

3 hours ago, EChondo said:

Yes, on the Microsoft Store, however they can't include non-Microsoft games on Game Pass on Steam

Uh, that's the point why I said it. You said that putting Game Pass on Steam would solve 99% of the problems, but....you'd get a far inferior product, because it wouldn't include all the games you get now.

[Morrie Sells Wigs]

Is it E.A Play now included with the Game Pass?

 

I thought I read it was only available as part of the Ultimate Pass for Xbox, but that Ultimate Pass includes Xbox Gold in the price and obviously that isn't an issue on pc.

[Morrie Sells Wigs]

Just now, Maury Sells Wigs said:

Is it E.A Play now included with the pc Game Pass?

 

I thought I read it was only available as part of the Ultimate Pass for Xbox, but that Ultimate Pass includes Xbox Gold in the price and obviously that isn't an issue on pc.

 

[austin.paquette]

Sorry for reviving a dead thread, but I figure this would probably be a good place to get an answer. Since this whole EA Play integration is coming soon, I'm just here trying to understand in which package its included. On their site it says:

Quote

Today I’m announcing that starting November 10, EA Play will be available on Xbox consoles, including Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and beginning in December, members with an Ultimate or PC subscription will be able to download and play games from the EA Play library on Windows 10 PCs.

So from my understanding, if I'm just paying for the base level Game Pass on PC (currently costing me $5.99/mo), I don't need to upgrade to Ultimate? Is upgrading to Ultimate only necessary if you're not on PC?