Topic: Just bought an Xbox and have questions about what tier of Game Pass to get

I am trying to decide between Ultimate and Console. Is the only thing missing in Console EA and Online or are there some games missing too? What version of game pass is best for someone who wants to play the Xbox exclusives and some new releases day one.

The standard Xbox Game Pass subscription lacks EA Play, cloud gaming, and online, so if you were to purchase the Console subscription, you would have to buy online separately. Games arrive day one on both.

I looked online and an answer said that both offer the same games. Exclusives, such as titles from Xbox Game Studios, are not missing from the standard Console subscription and are not locked behind an Ultimate subscription. However, games released under EA Play I believe are exclusive to Ultimate. One game feature, online multiplayer, is unplayable unless you purchase an Xbox Game Pass Core subscription.

Since you seem to want to play Xbox exclusives and possibly a few still exclusive titles from Xbox Game Studios, a lot of sites recommend Ultimate if you want the video game equivalent of Netflix, though it is the priciest out of them all. Just pick which one you feel is the best for you! It depends on your gaming habits and preferences. Hopefully this helps!

Core lists 25 games. The full catalog comes with Ultimate. I recommend Ultimate but if you're in a position you're asking it probably means that $7 difference is meaningful to you so just start with Core and if you see there's a game in Ultimate you want, there's your answer.

@Secryt Hm, they don’t offer the same games? From what I read and saw they did and the only exception was with the EA Play games. Thank you for the correction, since I only have the Console subscription and not Ultimate, so I can’t look and compare the two side by side. I think the question only asked for the differences between Console and Ultimate and my answer referred to those two only, but thank you for reminding me about Core. I completely forgot about it!

@MikeOrator As another one said in the forum, the Core subscription is probably the right fit if you are starting out and looking specifically for Xbox exclusives and Xbox Game Studios titles, since the list is curated to include higher-quality titles, though note that it doesn’t include every Xbox exclusive and some titles are third-parties. Ultimate includes the most games, while Core includes the least. Sorry if my answer may have spread some misinformation.

@Pastellioli I stand corrected. The games are same between Console and Ultimate. But console doesn't include "gold" or whatever they're calling their multiplayer service now.

https://www.ign.com/articles/how-much-does-xbox-game-pass-cost

@Secryt Oh, I see! I thought my answer with the games was a little iffy since I haven’t had an Ultimate subscription in a while.

You are correct about the online subscription. Console lacks it, while Ultimate includes it.

@Pastellioli I mean they make it so easy with four levels and no easy-to-find chart on their website lol

XBOX GAME PASS TIERS (updated)

CORE: Online console multiplayer and over 25 games:
https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/xbox-game-pass/core?xr=shellnav

CONSOLE: Full Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one. Online console multiplayer is not included. This tier is being phased out, but is available to recurrent subscribers.

STANDARD: Replaces the "Console" tier, which is the only tier without online console multiplayer. "Standard" does not include every Game Pass title on day one, but those are expected to be included afterwards and online console multiplayer is included.

PC: Specific PC Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one + EA Play.

ULTIMATE: Full Game Pass catalogue and specific PC Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one for console and PC + EA Play + cloud gaming + online console multiplayer.

@Banjo- That’s super helpful and clearer! Thank you.

@MikeOrator Console will give you access to the games but you'll only be able to play SP offline games unless you also purchase Game Pass Core for 'online' access.

Ultimate combines Console and Game Pass Core in one 'Tier' so you can play everything - inc the online only Games/modes. It also adds EA Play too so you get a 'greater' range of games. It also adds Game Pass PC and Game Pass Cloud so you can 'stream' games to any 'compatible' device (inc your own Xbox) and download/play on any PC too (inc Handheld PC's)

Basically Ultimate is the best option for Console gamers if not for ALL Gamers interested in playing Games on any device (except Switch/Playstation) anywhere. You can stream games to your Xbox to 'try' them first, before deciding if its worth waiting for it to Download for example or if you have a PC too, you can play all the games there too.

There is NO Online access (Game Pass Core), No EA Access, No Game Pass for PC, No Game Pass Cloud etc with Console so if you were hoping to play Black Ops 6 Multi-player/Zombies Online with your Friends with just the Console edition of Game Pass, you can't - you'd either need to pay for Game Pass Core to get Online Access, or 'upgrade' to Game Pass Ultimate and get EA Access., Game Pass Cloud/PC and 'perks' too.

Hope that helps...

Thank you everyone for your help. I did take some more time with the website and figured a lot out. It's basically like the 3 tiers of PS+ but with Day One games for some major releases.

if you get 3 years worth of gamepass Core off cd keys = £93 then a month of ultimate will convert that to 2 years worth of gamepass ultimate for just over £100

@MikeOrator I didn't know you'd finally got an Xbox. Nice!

@NEStalgia

Ya...just ordered it should be here in a little bit. I mostly got it for the Xbox Day One exclusives but will probably still buy all my physical 3rd party games on PlayStation. Like I need more games to play though, not to mention that my spouse will probably kill me...lol...

@MikeOrator Lol yeah, that's how we all start 🤣. I remember you kicking it around, so it's nice to see you pull the trigger. You'll definitely enjoy it, it's a great system. Obviously digital is where it's really shines, but the actual system itself is very nice. Kind of like having one foot in PC but not actually committing lol.

I honestly don't see a reason to subscribe to Ultimate if you only want to play offline games. It's better to go for the Console tier and EA Play separately. For example, if you want to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, then get a month of EA Play. Then, if you want to play Hellblade II, get a month of Game Pass for Console. That way, you get two months to use subscription services instead of one month of Game Pass Ultimate for pretty much the same price.

I forget what it is called but I often chose the 9.99 tier. I was not interested in Ubisoft stuff, so shilling out the extra 5 bucks felt like a bad idea.

IMO with the price increase of the ultimate tier looming, my vote would be to get that.

Update with the latest changes:

XBOX GAME PASS TIERS (updated)

CORE: Online console multiplayer and over 25 games:
https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/xbox-game-pass/core?xr=shellnav

CONSOLE: Full Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one. Online console multiplayer is not included. This tier is being phased out, but is available to recurrent subscribers.

STANDARD: Replaces the "Console" tier, which is the only tier without online console multiplayer. "Standard" does not include every Game Pass title on day one, but those are expected to be included afterwards and online console multiplayer is included.

PC: Specific PC Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one + EA Play.

ULTIMATE: Full Game Pass catalogue and specific PC Game Pass catalogue, including first-party games on day one for console and PC + EA Play + cloud gaming + online console multiplayer.