Topic: Series S incoming: Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate?

Hi everyone!
I managed to get my hands on an Series S - should be here later this week!

I'm planning to subscribe to Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate, but not sure which is better for me.
I understand that Ultimate includes Game Pass Gold and allows access to EA games for free (and I'm quite keen to play Jedi Fallen Order), but I'm not sure whether that's worth the bump in price.

Which service have you all subscribed to?
What were your reasons??

Thanks in advance!

Depends entirely on what you think you'll use.

Ultimate is worth it for me with EA Play, Cloud streaming on Android, Xbox Live Gold and GP on PC all more than make up for the extra few quid a month.

But if you know you won't use any of those extras, then yeah probably go for the standard.

@sib I have ultimate, but I also use the PC version as well as the console.

Game Pass Ultimate is worth it in my opinion - even if you don't want or have access to PC or Streaming to mobile. Of course you get Gold with it so you have the online access built in and the Free Games with Gold every month, EA Play too but you also get 'Perks' - like a month of Disney+ Free and some bonus content in games - cosmetics, DLC etc

Its worth it from my perspective and I don't have a PC or game on Mobile...

Do you play multiplayer? If you do get ultimate as it includes gold and like you mentioned EA Play. Do they still have the deal going on to convert your Xbox Live Gold time into ultimate for $1? If they do get three years of gold and convert to 3 years of ultimate. Best deal around and you have 3 years to decide if the added ultimate perks are for you.

@graysoncharles not to mention 10 hour trials of new games. So you can play Squadrons, the new FIFA, and Madden for 10 hours each in EA Play.

Thanks for all the responses!
I don't play multiplayer, and I only play on my Xbox - and the only EA title I'm interested in is Jedi Fallen Order. 5 dollars per month over the course of a year seems quite a lot for that..

tbh, I was originally considering not bothering with Game Pass and just buying the games I want to play. But, so many titles on Game Pass I want to "try" for a bit - like Battletoads, Forza, Monster Hunter, Void Bastards..!!

Series S should be arriving tomorrow, so I've got a little while longer to think about it. I'll keep you all posted. And, if anyone has any more thoughts, please keep them coming!

@sib Have you subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate before? If not, then you should know that you can buy the first month for only €1 (and I believe you can do this for two more months). So there's no need to worry about what to choose, just get a month of Ultimate for €1 and then decide if it's worth it or not.

Worth remembering that you don't necessarily need to stay subscribed to ultimate or even game pass itself. Just pick it up for a month or two (there are some good deals on the likes of CD Keys to save a bit of money too) and then turn off auto renew. That way you're not committed and can play Star Wars for a month etc.

While it's not for everyone, the value absolutely speaks for itself though for me.

As someone who grew up renting games from Blockbuster and a local video store, it's just such a good deal.

I've never subscribed to Ultimate or even the normal Game Pass before!
From what I understand, it's a bit like Netflix for Xbox games.. which sounds pretty cool.

The idea of subscribing to Ultimate just for a month or two sounds good - defo keen on playing Fallen Order.

Man i just double checked to see if the Xbox live Gold to ultimate is still a thing but they changed that! Now instead of just switching your remaining Xbox live gold to ultimate it does a conversion. I got mine setup a few months ago and man I lucked out. Definitely just do the $1 trial and see how you like it. I'm putting ultimate time cards on my wish list going forward fir easy gift ideas.

It's arrived..!
And the first game I'm playing is.. Resident Evil 7 😅

Amazing game. Haven't felt this immersed since the RE2 remaster.
Gears 5 downloaded, and that'll be next.

Then.. so many games I want to play!
Do you guys tend to have multiple games on the go at once, or just stick to a single game until you finish it then move on to the next..??

@sib I play mostly RPGs, so I have one I’m playing and then a few “change of pace” games to break it up. If I’m playing Gears Tactics; I can switch into something else like Tetris or something. That said Ori is a tear jerker ._. So I had switch a lot.

Everyone, just wanted to say thanks for all your help.
I bought 36 months' worth of Xbox Live Gold for ~150usd (I'm in Japan), and upgraded it to Ultimate for ~1usd.

Needless to say, I'm extremely happy..!!
Any recommendations on what game should I play first???

@mousieone
That sounds like a good idea. I remember finding GTAV a slog, and could've used a change of pace!

How is Tactics?
Is it easy to control with an Xbox controller??

@Xiovanni ahh ok so it's still a great deal for people just getting into the ecosystem

@sib congratulations!! I say play Ryse if you haven't ever played it. Sea of thieves is pretty popular if you like playing online. Also doom will be a part of your weekly quests so give that a go.

@Krzzystuff
Thanks! I'm quite a casual gamer (and not a particularly good one), but really enjoying RE7 at the moment.

Just searched for Ryse on howlongtobeat.com and it said ~7.5hrs - just my type of game!
Will defo check it out!

@sib well I could tell you my opinion but most of it is covered in a recent review on the site for https://www.purexbox.com/reviews/xbox-series-x/gears_tactics

I will say if your used to the “grid style” of tactical games it’s not present.

@mousieone
Got it - thanks!