Microsoft Microsoft officially announces Xbox Game Pass for PC, update - PC Game Pass will cost $5/month

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Over 100 titles will be available on the service with more info to be provided at E3.

[crispy4000]

Quote

... from well-known PC game developers and publishers such as Bethesda, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Paradox Interactive, SEGA, and more.

 

AKA, publishers still not investing in their own subscription service.

 

On another note, I really hope this results in more ports of older Xbox titles.  I really would love to play Lost Odyssey or PD Orta on my PC.

[Firewithin]

This will be it's own sub though?  If so o can stick to console pass and buy games on steam if I want

[Keyser_Soze]

[crispy4000]

Good news: Microsoft is saying they’ll be putting everything on Steam from now on.

 

Bad news:

 

Quote

"At the conference, Microsoft will reveal the details of how you can actually sign up for Game Pass on the PC with the launch of the beta. According to people familiar with company plans, the PC version of Game Pass will be included with Ultimate Game Pass that was announced earlier this year for no additional cost"

 

https://www.thurrott.com/xbox/207544/microsoft-unveils-a-few-pc-game-pass-details-heres-a-couple-more

 

Ultimate Games Pass is that XBL Gold + Games Pass bundle with no real savings.

 

Fuck that noise.  They’d be doubling down on Gold, and attempting to get PC gamers to subscribe to it.

[crispy4000]

29 minutes ago, Firewithin said:

This will be it's own sub though?  If so o can stick to console pass and buy games on steam if I want

 

Insider (Brad Sams) isn’t totally sure:

 

Quote

I have not heard yet if there will be a stand-alone SKU of PC Game Pass but it would seem odd to launch the new service without the option as not everyone needs the full Ultimate offering.

 

In other words, there is no separate subscription for Xbox owners who pay for both of Microsoft’s subscriptions.  

 

PC-centric gamers may be forced to pay for both together for Games Pass access.  A separate, cheaper PC subscription than ‘Ultimate’ is wishful thinking.

[stepee]

The good news is win32 apps coming to the windows store aka uwp should die out soon.

[Spork3245]

4 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Good news: Microsoft is saying they’ll be putting everything on Steam from now on.

 

Bad news:

 

 

https://www.thurrott.com/xbox/207544/microsoft-unveils-a-few-pc-game-pass-details-heres-a-couple-more

 

Ultimate Games Pass is that XBL Gold + Games Pass bundle with no real savings.

 

Fuck that noise.  They’d be doubling down on Gold, and attempting to get PC gamers to subscribe to it.

 

I’m not sure if it’s doubling down to get PC gamers on Gold, as you wouldn’t buy the “Ultimate” level if you didn’t already have an Xbone and Gold and wanted Game Pass for Xbone, correct?

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

 

I’m not sure if it’s doubling down to get PC gamers on Gold, as you wouldn’t buy the “Ultimate” level if you didn’t already have an Xbone and Gold and wanted Game Pass for Xbone, correct?

 

It’d work out like this, if precedent holds:

 

- On console: Must pay for Gold to play online multiplayer.  Optional for Games Pass.

 

- On PC: Must pay for Gold + Games Pass to use Games Pass.  Online multiplayer is free.

 

Gold morphs into a different kind of paywall depending on which platform you use.  Each one is ironic and contradictory compared to the other. 

 

 

[Spork3245]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

 

It’d work out like this, if precedent holds:

 

- On console: Must pay for Gold if you want to play  online multiplayer.  Optional for Games Pass.

 

- On PC: Must pay for Gold + Games Pass to use Games Pass.

 

Gold morphs into a different kind of paywall depending on which platform you use.

 

 

 

Oh, I misunderstood then as I thought you could buy Game Pass for PC, OR Game Pass for Xbone, OR pay for Ultimate and get Xbone + PC Gamepass and Gold all-in-one. So, the only option to get Game Pass for PC is to buy the Ultimate bundle?

[crispy4000]

Yup, that’s what is being implied.

[Spork3245]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

That’s what is being implied.

 

Welp, that no non-Xbone owning PC gamer will be buying Game Pass  

[JPDunks4]

Sounds like it’ll be an extra perk of Ultimate Pass and not the only way to sign up.  Seems like that’s be a fairly foolish approach.

[crispy4000]

14 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

Sounds like it’ll be an extra perk of Ultimate Pass and not the only way to sign up.  Seems like that’s be a fairly foolish approach.

 

You could say that about a subscription needed to play online multiplayer, but here we are.

 

I don’t trust companies to not make ‘foolish’ decisions like layering subscriptions to rake in cash. 

 

It says a lot that Microsoft hasn’t dropped Gold altogether now that Games Pass exists. Layering charges is something they’re already inclined to do.  So are arbitrary paywalls.

 

And they’ll probably get away with it on PC now.

[number305]

This could be really cool if it is executed well.  Honestly this is the type of thing that could be a mic drop news story for E3, so for them to drop this story ahead of time makes me think they have some other big things in store.

[AshsToAshs]

For those of you excited about this and Microsoft's recent announcement that it'll bring it's catalog to Steam:
I'm not sure how they would accomplish Game Pass via Steam.

 

My understanding is that if you end your Game Pass subscription, you lose access to Game Pass games.

Steam currently doesn't have a way of enabling/disabling access in that way. 

 

I'd assume that this PC Game Pass would have to be done via the Windows Store or the Windows Xbox app (both of which are hot garbage IMO)

[Spork3245]

6 minutes ago, AshsToAshs said:

For those of you excited about this and Microsoft's recent announcement that it'll bring it's catalog to Steam:
I'm not sure how they would accomplish Game Pass via Steam.

 

My understanding is that if you end your Game Pass subscription, you lose access to Game Pass games.

Steam currently doesn't have a way of enabling/disabling access in that way. 

 

I'd assume that this PC Game Pass would have to be done via the Windows Store or the Windows Xbox app (both of which are hot garbage IMO)

 

I highly doubt that Game Pass will be linked with Steam.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Update: PC Game Pass now avalable for $5/month, included with Ultimate (XBLG + XB Game Pass + PC Game Pass) for $15/month

[crispy4000]

So is XBLG needed?

[Keyser_Soze]

3 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

So is XBLG needed?

 

For PC?

 

No.

[crispy4000]

35 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

For PC?

 

No.

 

Goes against the rumors then.

[Pent]

I got this from Cheapassgamer.com:

 

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/redirect.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fp%2Fxbox-game-pass-ultimate%2Fcfq7ttc0khs0&pid=14174088
 

Quote

"As I understand it, the remaining months on your Xbox Live Gold + remaining months on your current Game Pass subscription will be combined into your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

 

Example: You have 9 months of Xbox Live Gold left and you have 6 months of GP left.  9 months + 6 months = 15 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

 

Edit:

Additional tips below.

 

Once subscribed/converted to Ultimate, if you go to the Xbox website, you can turn off recurring payments if you don't want to pay $15 after your sub ends.

 

Potential way to maximize your $:  The longest possible Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription is 3 years.  If you can find Xbox Live Gold or Game Pass deals for cheap, buy enough so the total of those plus your current remaining months <= 36 months.  Redeem all those codes, sign up for Ultimate, and get 3 full years of Ultimate."

 

 

 

My Game Pass was expiring in August this year, and my Gold would expire in March 2020.  Did the $1 and now everything will expire in July 2020.  If I had extra money I would have looked for a discount on another year of Gold before doing this.  From my understanding, the $1 also gave me the PC Game Pass until 07/2020.

 

Feel free to make a new thread or change the topic to include this if you like.

 

[jaethos]

11 hours ago, Pent said:

I got this from Cheapassgamer.com:

 

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/redirect.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fp%2Fxbox-game-pass-ultimate%2Fcfq7ttc0khs0&pid=14174088
 

 

My Game Pass was expiring in August this year, and my Gold would expire in March 2020.  Did the $1 and now everything will expire in July 2020.  If I had extra money I would have looked for a discount on another year of Gold before doing this.  From my understanding, the $1 also gave me the PC Game Pass until 07/2020.

 

I just did this. I picked up a discounted extra year of Gold, added it to my account and then converted. Adding up my Gold and Gamepass subs plus the month for $1 and I'm now covered for the next 3 years for maybe $3 a month. I'll figure out what I want to do with it afterwards in 2022.

[crispy4000]

Quote

 

PC-only owners can choose to pay an $5 extra a month (outside of beta) for some deals/giveaways on games that are mostly on Games Pass.   Plus early access on certain games, of which Gears 5 is presumably the first.  

Meanwhile, Xbox owners are made to pay for online multiplayer, because that's how Microsoft shows appreciation for their most dedicated base.  But now, there's the pseudo-rationalization of PC Games Pass being included with an Ultimate subscription.

It's better than the rumors made it out to be, I'll give it that.  But this was the time they could have truly addressed the problem.

[Remarkableriots]

5 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

PC-only owners can choose to pay an $5 extra a month (outside of beta) for some deals/giveaways on games that are mostly on Games Pass.   Plus early access on certain games, of which Gears 5 is presumably the first.  

Meanwhile, Xbox owners are made to pay for online multiplayer, because that's how Microsoft shows appreciation for their most dedicated base.  But now, there's the pseudo-rationalization of PC Games Pass being included with an Ultimate subscription.

It's better than the rumors made it out to be, I'll give it that.  But this was the time they could have truly addressed the problem.

What problem?

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, Remarkableriots said:

What problem?

 

It’s twofold...

 

1. Xbox gamers being required to pay for multiplayer in games like Halo, Gears, Forza, etc when PC gamers get it totally free.  Treats console gamers like second class citizens, especially now with everything Microsoft produces being ported, cross-play and/or cross-buy enabled.

 

2. The poor value proposition of XBL Gold for PC-centric gamers compared to other PC subscription services.  (Even Games Pass itself now)  Arguably, you could do much better than GWG by freeloading on game giveaways from Epic, Humble, GoG, etc.  Or by buying a $5 bundle you’re interested in once a month.

 

It looks like they’re attempting to handwave those issues with early game launches for Gold + Games Pass subscribers.  That’s a shitty business practice to begin with, straight out of EA’s playbook.  It doesn’t add value so much as take away from those who don’t buy in.

[atom631]

1 hour ago, crispy4000 said:

 

It’s twofold...

 

1. Xbox gamers being required to pay for multiplayer in games like Halo, Gears, Forza, etc when PC gamers get it totally free.  Treats console gamers like second class citizens, especially now with everything Microsoft produces being ported, cross-play and/or cross-buy enabled.

 

2. The poor value proposition of XBL Gold for PC-centric gamers compared to other PC subscription services.  (Even Games Pass itself now)  Arguably, you could do much better than GWG by freeloading on game giveaways from Epic, Humble, GoG, etc.  Or by buying a $5 bundle you’re interested in once a month.

 

It looks like they’re attempting to handwave those issues with early game launches for Gold + Games Pass subscribers.  That’s a shitty business practice to begin with, straight out of EA’s playbook.  It doesn’t add value so much as take away from those who don’t buy in.

I dont agree with any of this. 

 

1.) Xbox gamers have been paying for live for what? 15 years? Just because Microsoft is actually doing something awesome and releasing games on both PC and Console and implementing cross play/save, doesnt mean they should change their model on the console. If you want to play on PC do it...but cough up $800+ for PC. Or save $400 and buy a console and pay for gold over time. Its good to have choices. 

 

2.) $5/mo for 100+ games now. Games being added monthly. and access to every first party MS release on launch day is a poor value proposition? Ok. Thats the cost of 1 game. IF you buy just Gears 5 this year, its the same price. 

 

 

[atom631]

20 hours ago, Pent said:

I got this from Cheapassgamer.com:

 

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/redirect.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fp%2Fxbox-game-pass-ultimate%2Fcfq7ttc0khs0&pid=14174088
 

 

My Game Pass was expiring in August this year, and my Gold would expire in March 2020.  Did the $1 and now everything will expire in July 2020.  If I had extra money I would have looked for a discount on another year of Gold before doing this.  From my understanding, the $1 also gave me the PC Game Pass until 07/2020.

 

Feel free to make a new thread or change the topic to include this if you like.

 

 

My gold was expiring on 5/9/20. I went on ebay and bought a 1 year game pass subscription ($45) and added it to my account. 

 

I then subbed to ultimate and Im now set until 6/9/21 (with the extra month free they give you). Thats two full years of the Ultimate pass. 

 

Im sure by the time Im ready to renew, there will be great deals on ultimate yearly passes as well.

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, atom631 said:

I dont agree with any of this. 

 

1.) Xbox gamers have been paying for live for what? 15 years? Just because Microsoft is actually doing something awesome and releasing games on both PC and Console and implementing cross play/save, doesnt mean they should change their model on the console. If you want to play on PC do it...but cough up $800+ for PC. Or save $400 and buy a console and pay for gold over time. Its good to have choices. 

 

2.) $5/mo for 100+ games now. Games being added monthly. and access to every first party MS release on launch day is a poor value proposition? Ok. Thats the cost of 1 game. IF you buy just Gears 5 this year, its the same price. 

 

 

 

1.  15 years of this crap doesn’t make it any less crap.  I stand by Gold only looking shitter when Microsoft supports PC more as if it were a console in everything else.  Console gamers are continuing to get the short end of the stick as parity with PC is attained.  Same exact games, but with recurring expenses to play feature complete on consoles.  It’s bullshit.

 

2. You have to be subscribed to Gold to get each month’s games.  It’s not $5 a month for an instant game library that large.  That’s Games Pass’ selling point (and starting price for now).  I was referring to the problems with Gold on PC.

 

 

[Firewithin]

converted to ultimate yesterday.  got windows updated to install the pc app and everything shows as gamepass eligible now.  15 bucks is a steal for this

[Rodimus]

So if you have Game Pass on PC do you still have to pay to play them online on the PC? I am going to guess yes since they offer a bundle with gold for $15 a month that includes GamePass on the Xbox One. How Different is the Game Pass Library on the PC vs the Xbox One?

[Spork3245]

4 minutes ago, Rodimus said:

So if you have Game Pass on PC do you still have to pay to play them online on the PC?

 

No.

[Keyser_Soze]

42 minutes ago, Rodimus said:

So if you have Game Pass on PC do you still have to pay to play them online on the PC? I am going to guess yes since they offer a bundle with gold for $15 a month that includes GamePass on the Xbox One. How Different is the Game Pass Library on the PC vs the Xbox One?

 

Gamepass ultimate is XBL Gold for Xbox, Gamepass for Xbox and Gamepass for PC. No gold needed for PC.

[crispy4000]

8 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

No gold needed for PC.

 

PC perks appear to be Gold specific deals, GWG titles that are Play Anywhere, and early releases like Gears 5.

 

Mileage will vary on whether that’s worth an extra $5-10 a month.

[atom631]

1 hour ago, crispy4000 said:

 

1.  15 years of this crap doesn’t make it any less crap.  I stand by Gold only looking shitter when Microsoft supports PC more as if it were a console in everything else.  Console gamers are continuing to get the short end of the stick as parity with PC is attained.  Same exact games, but with recurring expenses to play feature complete on consoles.  It’s bullshit.

 

2. You have to be subscribed to Gold to get each month’s games.  It’s not $5 a month for an instant game library that large.  That’s Games Pass’ selling point (and starting price for now).  I was referring to the problems with Gold on PC.

 

 

 

again - A PC of comparable specs to a X1X is double the cost or more. Youre just spending the money differently. It would be nice if we didnt have to pay for gold but they at least give you a few free games every month to  compensate. I really dont have a clue, but my guess is without this revenue, console prices would be considerably higher. 

 

$5 for access to hundreds of free games and day 1 access to exclusives is an exceptional deal.  what do you want them to do? give you Halo, Forza and Gears for free?