Remember Youll Have To Download Them First
Theres one major way this experience doesnt compare to Netflix or even Sonys PlayStation Now. While both Netflix and PlayStation Now allow you to start streaming a video or game immediately, Xbox Game Pass requires you download a game to your Xbox One before you play it.
For example, BioShock Infinite, which is 13 GB in size, took nearly an hour to download on our fairly speedy Internet connection.
If you plan on sticking with a game, thats good news. Youll have better performance with the game installed on your Xbox One. But you cant just sit down and flip through a few games, trying each for a few minutes and seeing what you like. Youll need to download each game in full before you play it.
Thats fine, reallyits the standard experience with Xbox One games, after all. Just dont expect anything else. How long you have to wait before playing a game will depend on the speed of your Internet connection.
Once a game is installed, you can play it all you like. If your Xbox Game Pass subscription expires, the game will remain installed, but you wont be able to play it until you either resubscribe or purchase the game. You dont get to keep games you download via Xbox Game Passyou lose access to them when your subscription stops.
Should I Get Xbox Live Gold Or Xbox Game Pass
This depends on your gaming habits. Xbox Live Gold’s biggest selling point is not the free games, but it’s being able to play online. Are you someone who is going to play a few games online and only those games on a regular basis? Then you’ll want Xbox Live Gold.
On the other hand, if you want what is the equivalent to “Netflix for video games,” then Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is an easy choice. You have more than 100 games to choose from, and you’ll be able to play them from multiple devices. Tack on Xbox Live Gold, and you get a tremendous value for $15 a month. Put another way, you get to play dozens of games per year for the price of just three new console games purchased at retail .
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The 30 Best Xbox Game Pass Games You Can Play Right Now
Xbox Game Pass subscribers have a massive library of games to choose from here are the ones we think you should check out.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate continues to be one of the best values in gaming. The $15-per-month subscription grants you access to more than 350 games on Xbox Series X and Xbox One as well as 200-plus titles on PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also comes with Xbox Live Gold, so you can play online multiplayer with friends and get even more free games each month plus, EA Play and xCloud game streaming are also included with the service. If you also consider that every first-party Microsoft game is added to Game Pass on launch day, subscribing to the service makes a ton of sense if you game on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, or PC. But with so many Xbox Game Pass titles to choose from and a limited number of hours in the day, it can be challenging to choose what to play on the service. To help you navigate the crowded library, we’ve rounded up the 30 best Xbox Game Pass games you can play right now.
More Xbox best lists
To be clear, there are plenty more excellent games on Xbox Game Pass than the ones weve listed below–the service is loaded with worthy games. These are just the games we think every Xbox owner should play. Since Microsoft routinely adds and removes games from the service, this list will be updated regularly. We arranged the following picks in alphabetical order and tried to highlight games from a wide variety of genres.
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Xbox Cloud Gaming From September 2020
Microsoft’s cloud game streaming platform formerly known as Project xCloud is an official product as of September 2020, and is part of the increasingly attractive Game Pass Ultimate package.
The library of games has shrunk somewhat from that which was offered during the testing period, but there are still some of Microsoft’s finest in there for launch along with some top titles from third-party publishers. Most recently, titles brought in-house with Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda have joined the game streaming ranks.
Cloud Gaming is part of the main Game Pass app for Android, while on iOS, Mac, Chrome OS, and Linux, Xbox Cloud Gaming is available through the browser.
What Is The Best Xbox Game Pass Deal
Post-Cyber Monday sales, the best Xbox Game Pass deal right now comes in the form of a conversion trick. Right now, 3-months of Xbox Game Pass for PC is down to £15.99 on Amazon. This means if you’re a current Game Pass Ultimate member, you can extend your current subscription at a reduced cost, as 3-months of Game Pass for PC will auto-convert to 2-months of Game Pass Ultimate .
2-months of Ultimate would usually cost £21.98, so you’re saving just under £6 in total. If you really want to maximise your savings, stack these Game Pass for PC codes, and get 4-months for £31.98 , or 6-months for £47.97 .
I can personally confirm that this deal is active, and the conversion trick works perfectly, as I’ve tested it myself. Here are the relevant steps broken down for you as well.
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How To Set Up Friends Pass
The requirements to download Friends Pass are simple, with the only difference being between your platform of choices marketplace. This can be done via Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC through the Steam or Origin store. Remember, there is no cross-platform play, but cross-gen play is implemented.
After one player downloads the full game of It Takes Two, the player who doesnt own it or have Game Pass needs to search for It Takes Two on their preferred marketplace . Theyll find Friends Pass in that search. Players do not need to download it on the same platform as their friend the game has full cross-play support. Once they download it, the player with the full game just has to invite their friend from the main menu. Now both players are good to start playing the entirety of the game together even though only one player owns the game. Its that simple.
Friends Pass works with the Xbox Game Pass version of the game. If youre a subscriber, have your friend download the pass, and youll be able to invite them through the steps mentioned above.
This process can also work for both players and allow them to play through a demo of the game if neither owns the full title. The same setup applies, but this time, both players have to download Friends Pass. This only allows you to play the game up to the end of the first level. To go any further, at least one player has to purchase the full game or while it is still a featured title.
Xbox Game Pass Vs Xbox Live Gold: What’s The Difference
Both subscriptions offer more gaming options for Xbox owners, but they’re not the same thing. We break down the differences.
Does the PS5 have an edge on the Xbox Series X/S in terms of its lineup of current and upcoming exclusive game titles? Maybe. But where Xbox has a distinct advantage is its Game Pass subscription option, which lets Xbox owners play more than 100 games for single flat fee . It’s a great deal, but the only problem is that Microsoft has some confusing messaging around the available Game Pass options: There are three versions of the subscription, along with a Xbox subscription called “Xbox Live Gold.” Gold, meanwhile, is included in some versions of Game Pass, but not others.
Need help untangling the differences? Read on.
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What Is Xbox All Access
Xbox All Access is a monthly installment payment option for a new Xbox Series S or X. Customers can sign up for the plan to pay $35 a month for an Xbox Series X or $25 a month for an Xbox Series S. Both plans include 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. There are no upfront fees and 0% APR. Best Buy, GameStop, Microsoft Store, Target and Walmart are all participants in the program, however, the trick is to sign up when consoles are available. If you’re still on the hunt for an Xbox Series X or S, will have the latest restock updates for you.
You Can Secretly Play Over 20 Unlisted Games On Xbox Game Pass For Pc
Xbox Game Pass for PC is an awkward, beautiful beast. It consistently manages to impress me with its ever-growing games line-up, while at the same time baffling me with its obscure user experience.
Take the EA Play integration, for instance, which gives you access to dozens of games from EAs subscription service. Not only can you not search for specific EA games within Xbox Game Pass for PC, but I recently discovered that there are actually over 20 EA Play games not listed at all in the Xbox app that youcan play with an Xbox Game Pass PC subscription.
To play one of these games, you need to sign into the EA Play or Origin app, then simply type the game name into the search box and download it .
Its a pretty good bunch too! The headliner has to be Crysis Remastered, which came out last year, but among them youll also find Worms W.M.D as well as the greatest Battlefield game, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 .
Theres also a solid selection of indie titles including Superhot, Trine 2, The Sexy Brutale, and even something for the videogame historians in the form of Ultima Underworld 1 and 2.
Having trawled through the EA Play catalogue, here are all the EA Play games not listed in the Xbox app that Game Pass subscribers can play:
- Aragami
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What Is Xbox Game Pass And Is It Worth It
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more…
Microsofts Xbox Game Pass promises access to over 100 games for a $10 per month subscription fee. Microsoft wants Xbox Game Pass to be the Netflix of video gamesbut is it really worth it?
Update: We originally reviewed Xbox Game Pass in 2017 and found it a little lacking. But, at the end of 2019, Xbox Game Pass now offers a more compelling library of games to play. Check out the current games list. Some new games, like The Outer Worlds, have even been added to Xbox Game Pass at release. Beyond that, Xbox Game Pass is now available for Windows 10 PCs, although the library of games available on PC is different.
Is It Worth It
If youre relatively new to console gaming, Xbox Game Pass is an incredible value. Anyone who just picked up an Xbox Series X or Series S can instantly unlock some of the best games of the past generation, plus access to new first-party games on day one. Thats enough content to keep your game queue filled indefinitely.
For PC gamers, the value is even better. As long as you have a capable gaming PC, you can play hundreds of games both locally and online. Game Pass for PC includes tons of great strategy games, too, so gamers of all types will find something to suit them.
That said, console gamers who like to play online will find better value in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. As mentioned above, it adds tons of killer features for just $5 more per month. There really is no better deal in gaming right now.
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Golf With Your Friends
The trick to good social games is to make sure that failure is at least tolerable, and hopefully part of the fun. Deflating some of the sting of losing is important if you want a game people can use to unwind while hanging out with other folks.
Golf With Your Friends is a mini-golf game for up to 12 players, and the controls are easy to learn: You just point the ball in a direction, select the force of your putt, and see how you do. Many holes in the games themed courses feel like theyre based on luck and timing as much as skill, so even the best players may find themselves flailing at getting the ball where it needs to go. The game can be frustrating, especially when it comes to the cameras struggle to take in all the action, but its always ridiculous and lighthearted.
Golf With Your Friends may inspire some curse words, but the game is also simple and enjoyable enough to play that it can also fade into the background, allowing people to chat whether theyre playing couch co-op or online. Best of all, Golf With Your Friends emulates a real-world activity that must of us probably havent been able to do this year.
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.
Additionally, every new Microsoft first-party title will be added into Game Pass at launch. This includes forthcoming games like Halo Infinite.
But just as games regularly enter the rotation, games also regularly leave Game Pass. Any non-Microsoft game will likely leave at some point, or you should treat it as such and play those you like the look of as soon as you can.
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What About Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a more expensive subscription plan that launched in 2019. It includes all of the perks of Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, plus a few extras. One of the biggest additions is Xbox Cloud Gaming , which is a cloud gaming platform lets you stream games directly to your phone.
Another benefit is EA Play, which is EAs standalone subscription service that normally costs $4.99 a month. You also get Xbox Live Gold, which costs $9.99 a month on its own.
Considering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is just $14.99 a month, its an even better value than the cheaper Game Pass. Learn more about it in our Xbox Game Pass Ultimate guide, or check out subscription plans at the link below.
The Walking Dead: Season One
The first season of Telltales The Walking Dead is a must-play for any story-driven fans. You play as Lee at the start of the zombie apocalypse set apart from the show and graphic novels. The choices you make through the story decide who lives and dies and who will be willing to help you should you need it. You essentially adopt Clementine, a little girl that you quickly become close to and will need to watch as you travel looking for safety. If you find yourself in love with Clementine and the story, you can enjoy the second and third seasons, also available on Game Pass.
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The Elder Scrolls Online
Though there arent too many MMORPGs on the Xbox Game Pass catalogue, the powerhouse that is The Elder Scrolls Online is waiting to more than make up for it.
The Elder Scrolls MMO has come leaps and bounds since its original release, and now stands up there with some of the best in the genre.
PvP is delivered via a huge three-way battle for the Imperial City, while more pacifist-aligned players will instead be drawn to the colourful housing system and range of peaceful skilling options available.
Even if youve never tried an MMO, Elder Scrolls fans should be tempted by the possibility of exploring some never-before seen regions across Tamriel and beyond.
Be warned: if youre giving it a try, expect to stay awhile.
Riot Is Celebrating League Of Legends Netflix Series Arcane Throughout November
Riot Games is taking the whole month of November to celebrate its new Netflix animated series Arcane within all of its League of Legends universe games. The event dubbed RiotX Arcane starts today, with the official kickoff beginning on November 6 at the League of Legends World Championship. This upcoming Super Weekend will include World Championship
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How Does It Work
Xbox Game Pass, true to the Netflix for games ideal, has a rotating library of games that you can download any play at any time. It isnt quite as immediate as Netflix though, since you still need to install the games on your local PC or Xbox console. You can also queue game installs on your home Xbox from the Game Pass app.
Once installed, you are free to play the game as much as you want. That is, as long as you remain subscribed to Game Pass. You may also lose access if a game is removed from the service, but generally, Microsoft provides plenty of warning beforehand.
Even if a game is removed, all of your save data is kept safely in the cloud. You can resume right where you left off if you decide to purchase. Games generally have a healthy discount before leaving Game Pass, too.
Just like Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass can also be shared with other profiles on the same Xbox. All you have to do is designate it as your Home Xbox. More details on that here.