Should you be subscribed to Game Pass in 2022? And if you are already, are you getting the most out of it?

Today I’m going to look at the actual cost of Game Pass, breakdown the 4 types of gamers who should be subscribed including one group that might surprise you so read on until the end to find out who that is.

There can’t be many gamers who haven’t heard of Xbox Game Pass and over twenty-five million of us are subscribed to the service. But have you looked at the cost and worked out if you should subscribe? Or if you are a subscriber, are you still getting value from the service. First let’s break down the actual cost of buying an Xbox Series console and compare that to Xbox Game Pass in 2022.

Cost of device

The cost of devices varies from country to country but here in the UK the RRP of an Xbox Series X is £449.99 with the series S coming in at £249. Thats a decent chunk of change to drop on anything so let’s see how that compares to Game Pass. Of course, getting your hands on a device is the next challenge and in fact I paid £80 over the odds for a brand-new console on Ebay so the real-world cost can vary.

Monthly cost
£10.99 / £120.89 (first year) for ultimate which includes PC and Console but also game streaming.
£7.99 / £95.88 Yearly for Console only. No games streaming. You can stream over local internet to another device.

So, another way to think about that is the cost of a new Xbox is equal to 40 months of Game Pass subscription. (Or 3 1/2 years)

Keep these figures in mind when we look at the four types of gamers who I think should be subscribed to Game Pass in 2022.

There are four types of gamers who will find real value in being subscribed to Xbox Game Pass.

You buy more than two games a year.

Look at the cost of some of the most popular titles and you will see that if you play at least two of these the cost of Game Pass makes sense. Not only do you get access to games you would have bought anyway but also a large library of other games.
Let’s look at the cost of the top 10 Xbox games right now.
FIFA 22 – £64.99
COD Vanguard – £39.99
Halo Infinite – £47.99
Elden Ring pre order – £49.99
You might argue that you can buy FIFA 22 and either Halo Infinite or Elden ring for less than the cost of Game Pass, but the saving isn’t that great (£20 or so) and doesn’t give you access to the rest of the game library. Even if you only play one other game from that library during the year you have covered the cost of Game Pass. Also, if you’re the kind of person who plays through a game once and doesn’t return to it then Game Pass makes sense. (Assuming you buy digital titles) Some of you like the box and like owning a physical copy of the game, and the sense of control that gives you but for most gamers who play through a game once owning games outright is an expensive option. There is a caveat to this of course and that is that you might buy games which aren’t on Game Pass. However, look at the sales and player numbers for the games which are on Game Pass and it’s clear that most Xbox players stick to the big franchises.

Upfront cost is prohibitive.

Not everyone has the £450 upfront to drop on a new console every 3 or 4 years and buy games to go with it so for these people Xbox Game Pass makes a lot of sense. Game Pass allows you to spread the total cost of ownership over 3 1/2 years and get access to the library next generation and old games! All you need is an older console, a phone, tablet, or computer and you’re good to go.

You need to stream games.

There are many reasons why someone might need to stream their games rather than install them on an Xbox. Perhaps you only have one TV in your house? (But have access to another device such as a phone, tablet, or laptop) or frequently travel? Game Pass solves this problem for you too by turning that device into a portable Xbox. You can also stream games to your Xbox without installing them which is great for those of us who filled up our internal storage or don’t want to wait for the game to download before playing it.

You’ve bought a PlayStation.

Now bear with me here. If you are PlayStation fan but want to play Halo previously you had to buy an Xbox or play on someone else’s console. Game Pass allows you to subscribe month by month allowing you to cherry pick when you pay and play Xbox titles streamed to your PlayStation. And who knows one day you will buy a proper console and stream PlayStation games to it instead. In 2022 you could argue that this is the optimum set up for anyone really into gaming. You don’t need to buy the Xbox hardware anymore. And frankly this is the way Microsoft see’s gaming going in the future. They have struggled to make money on hardware in the past so if you are subscribed to their service why should they care which device you play from?

Hopefully as Xbox owners we will be able to stream PlayStation games whenever Sony gets around to launching their own updated version of PlayStation Now. Whether they can bring PlayStation exclusives day and date like Game Pass is anyone’s guess right now but hopefully they can create competition for Xbox to keep them honest, keep innovation happening and keep prices down.

Let me know what you think of Game Pass if you’re subscribed to it. And if you own an Xbox, would you be interested in streaming PlayStation games to it?