5 Reasons To Subscribe to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Right Now

To state the obvious: Games are the most important part of a game service.

Microsoft features an array of games, ranging from high-octane action adventures to small, intimate platformers. The company’s curation is some of the best out there—almost every available title is worth a download. And access to some of Microsoft’s biggest releases sweetens the deal.

Major series, such as Gears of War and Halo, appear in their entirety on the service, making it an excellent opportunity for Xbox novices looking to dive into the console’s backlog or Microsoft die-hards hoping to take a nostalgia trip. And a smattering of backward-compatible offerings round out the catalog with Xbox 360 and original Xbox classics.

Game Pass is also a great opportunity to explore some less successful Xbox exclusives: $60 for Quantum Break or Crackdown 3 may be a bit steep, but at $9.99 a month with a ton of other games included, it’s a steal.

Third parties show up in force, too. Developers on both the AAA and indie scene appear on the service: whether you want to scale mountains and pillage valuable historical artifacts in Shadow of the Tomb Raider or dunk your head in a phlegm-covered spitoon in West of Loathing, Game Pass has you covered.

Some games—from tentpole titles such as the upcoming Gears of War 5 and Outer Worlds to ID @ Xbox releases including Void Bastards and Outer Wilds—launch day one on Game Pass.

We’ve come to expect new experiences from our subscription services. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video are endless spigots of original content, enough of it sufficiently good to attract our money. Though there isn’t a game equivalent to that trend, straight-to-Game Pass releases come pretty close.

Microsoft’s Games With Gold and Sony’s PS Plus give subscribers access to a handful of games each month, allowing you to download and play games on your account so long as you maintain your subscription. But if your payments lapse or you unsubscribe to give your wallet a breather, you’ll miss out on months of “free” games. Other analogs to Game Pass maintain their catalogs but, because of either price or curation, don’t have the same appeal.

Game Pass, on the other hand, maintains games month to month, with a few new titles rotating in and old ones rotating out. At the rate Microsoft is going, the current library will likely be similar, albeit larger, than the lineup in a few years.

That stability makes it possible to buy a month of the service for a specific title, cancel it, and then reapply a few months later for the next big thing. Or maybe you read about something that’s been on Game Pass for months and want to dive in post-hype—you can.

Microsoft announced Game Pass for Windows last year, and you can hop into its beta now if your PC is up to snuff.

Make sure your PC has the latest version of Windows 10, then download the Xbox Beta App, sign in with your credentials, and access Microsoft’s game library. At least for now, the Beta includes 108 games, fewer than half of Xbox One’s hefty 253. But a slighter catalog doesn’t diminish its value—the PC has the same depth of list, even if it lacks its console cousin’s breadth. And should that number overwhelm you, the app has a Surprise Me button that randomly rolls a game for you to download.

PC access currently costs $4.99 (new members get their first month for $1) and will jump to the standard $9.99 monthly price once it’s properly released.

Of course, an exorbitant price would sink an otherwise wonderful package, but at $9.99 a month, Game Pass is one of gaming’s best deals. It regularly goes on sale, too, and new members can take advantage of frequent three-months-for-$1-each deals. Or you can choose the competitively priced Ultimate package, which includes Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass for Xbox One and PC; separately all three subscriptions would cost $25 a month.

Microsoft’s price beats out its competition. Sony’s PS Now streaming service costs twice as much as Game Pass, and though it boasts over 750 games, it’s hampered by its dependence on high internet speeds. (Forget Bloodborne; my home ISP barely streams The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel at high quality.)

EA Access is cheaper—$4.99 a month—but it offers a limited library, while Ubisoft’s upcoming service is more expensive, at $14.99 a month, for access to any game in its library.

Game Pass brings the subscription mindset to gaming, and for better or worse, overwhelms you with tons of titles from every genre and multiple generations. Plus, its cross-platform availability lets you play dozens of games at crazy resolutions on your beefy desktop or take them on the go on your compact laptop. Before the hype cycle begins for a new set of consoles, it’s worth looking back at this generation’s greatest hits. And Game Pass is the way to do it.

These are the best Xbox One games currently available—several of which are currently available on Game Pass. Or if you want recommendations for what to play on PC, head over to PC Magazine's Steam curator page.