how much is xbox game pass ultimate for a year

Players paying a dollar more for Console lose access to online multiplayer, which seems bizarre, although it's likely that Microsoft is doing this to incentivize a shift to the $16.99-per-month Ultimate subscription instead. The price suddenly looks a lot steeper - despite being the same as Xbox Live Gold - when placed alongside the rest of the Game Pass deals and seeing exactly what they include.

However, now Xbox Live Gold is essentially part of the Game Pass model as Core, it makes it even more transparently greedy how online multiplayer is locked behind a subscription. It used to kind of make sense when Xbox Live Gold was a separate service and was included as a bonus for Game Pass users subscribing to Ultimate, and this model was mirrored by PlayStation with its disbanding of its Game Pass Console-esque PlayStation Now into the new tiered PlayStation Plus, which acts more Like Game Pass Ultimate.

Sign up for Live Gold now and you’ll have access to Game Pass Core as soon as it arrives. Xbox Live Gold becomes Xbox Game Pass Core on September 14, 2023. Subscription continues automatically at regular price unless cancelled through your Microsoft Account. Xbox Game Pass Core costs a mere dollar less for players to subscribe to the Console tier of Xbox Game Pass, which doesn't include online multiplayer but comes with significantly more games. Play together with Gold starting at 9.99/month. In principle, the whole idea is kind of dumb and feels like an easy way to milk some more money out of the gaming community, but an infographic on Xbox's official site that explains the new Game Pass Core tier makes it more painfully obvious than it was before.

How much is xbox game pass ultimate for a year