Let's Chat Games 020 - Xbox Game Pass is a Mess but I Still Love It

Game Pass is a great value, has great games, and is as confusing as ever.

When Microsoft first launched the game-subscription service Game Pass it meant one thing and one thing only, you paid the subscription price, you got all the games on offer. Now… not so much.

Now, there is no Game Pass, but instead a Game Pass Core, Game Pass Standard, Game Pass Ultimate, and Game Pass PC, each with different offerings and different price points. But yet Microsoft still really just calls things “Game Pass” when they talk about: playing a new game on day one; when a game gets added to some level(s) of the service; and when they talk about the idea of the service in general. But hey, what should we expect from a company that named their various consoles, in order of release, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series. Clarity in naming isn’t exactly Xbox’s thing.

For X dollars per month, you get access to Y catalog of games, all you have to do is subscribe to Game Pass [Core/Standard/Ultimate/PC]*!

*X dollar amount and Y games provided vary depending!

Did you hear Game Pass gives you access to cloud gaming? Maybe you even heard me talk about that on an episode of DLC. It’s an awesome feature and something I’ve loved for a long time, and still think will be the “future” of gaming. And yes, you get access to games* via the cloud via Game Pass… Ultimate, and ULTIMATE ONLY.

*some of the Xbox Game Pass game catalog, but still not all of it is available in the cloud.

Game Pass PC? That gets you access to the big Microsoft-owned studios games ON DAY ONE! What about if you play on console only (you know, on an Xbox) and want those sweet DAY ONE games? Well, how does Game Pass Ultimate sound? Because, yeah, that’s your only option if you want that day-one-gaming goodness. Game Pass Standard, nope. The “standard” version of Game Pass doesn’t come with its most advertised feature. Makes sense, right?

When you think of the core feature of Game Pass, what do you think of? I think of playing those big releases on day one. I’d argue a lot of us do. That was OG Game Pass’s big selling feature. So surely Game Pass Core has that, right? NO, OF COURSE NOT, why would you think that?!? Game Pass Core clearly only comes with 25 older games. Game Pass Core comes with less than Game Pass Standard.

The good news though, all levels of Game Pass come with “high quality” (their words) games, whatever the heck that means. Because, let’s be honest, there have been some stinkers added to the various levels of Game Pass over the years. Like objectively bad games. I’m not going to name names here, but yeah…

I might be alone on this, but I find this all pretty dang frustrating and that’s mostly because I LOVE Game Pass [Ultimate], but Microsoft has muddied the waters with their convoluted naming that it makes a simple recommendation a more complicated conversation. I guess you could argue providing more options at more price points is always a good thing, but when those options dilute your messaging, I think it creates more problems than it solves… unless that problem is trying to upsell people to Ultimate even though it likely comes with features people don’t want and won’t use.

Ah, the good-old bundle! Gamers of a certain age certainly remember some of Game Stop’s sweet gaming bundles. Lots of crap you don’t want or need just to get the one thing you do. Feels good, baby, feels good!

Is Game Pass Ultimate’s $19.99/month cost of entry a good value? I think so, because I have an Xbox console hooked up to my TV, I have a modern computer where I play video games, and I play games via the cloud… and I really like the day one games that come to the service, especially this year, with Avowed, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and South of Midnight, among others. But if I “only” had an Xbox console, I’d be less enthused. I’d be annoyed that Game Pass PC comes with day one games for cheaper than what I’d have to pay to get access to those games games on my console, and I’d find Microsoft’s messaging about what games are or are not coming to Game Pass more confusing than it needs to be, when I need to suss out what games I’d actually be getting access to.

But that’s just me. Perhaps I am overthinking things and everyone else find’s Microsoft’s messaging around Game Pass crystal clear? Or maybe everyone just subscribes to Game Pass Ultimate and calls it a day?

What do you think? Do you subscribe to Game Pass, and if so, what level? I’d love to know your thoughts! If you’re reading this on Substack, you can just reply right here, or, if you’re reading this as an email, just reply to the email and let me know your take!

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Some other things I’ve been spending my time with:

🎮 - Split Fiction (review coming soon) and more Avowed

📖 - the current Ghost-Spider comic run

🎧 - Winona Fighter’s album My Apologies to the Chef

-Thanks for being here!

-C