Xbox Game Pass is a fantastic deal in its own right, but many users have managed to make that deal considerably cheaper through a variety of methods. One such way saw players converting EA Play memberships into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at a lower price, but it seems that path is being closed off.
Originally, EA Play members could convert a year's membership (which translates to $30) to four months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This was cheaper than purchasing four months of the service outright, encouraging many Xbox users to take up this deal. As spotted by Twisted Voxel, an Xbox Support page has recently been updated, bringing the conversion from four months down to two months.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can redeem EA Play codes for the Xbox console, but they will automatically convert and extend their Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. One month of EA Play will extend an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription by 10 days, and a one-year EA Play code will extend an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription by 2 months.
It's not surprising Xbox has begun cracking down on these methods, as they undoubtedly make Game Pass more of a steal. With that being said, there is currently an offer running for new members, which enables you to receive three months of Xbox Game Pass for just $1. There's also another well known trick, which allows Xbox owners to save a gargantuan amount of money on the service. While one door may have closed, many others still remain open.
Have you used any unique methods to gain Xbox Game Pass? Let us know in the comments below.
[source twistedvoxel.com, via support.xbox.com]
Comments 49
When all the loopholes close and it really is £10.99 a month we will see the true hunger for GPU. When the 3 years of your stacked GPU runs out obviously. At £3.40 a month I had no doubts and at £10.99 I’ll pass. I’d wager many will do the same
My long deal run out just after Christmas. Will join up again when we get some first party action, however I do hate the fact that I get the advert for the £1 deal flag up. You select it and get take to the gamepass ultimate sign up for 10.99 a month. Surely it can't be that hard to stop those ads showing on an old gamepass user xbox. Wonder how long before you can be a new user again?
You have to wonder where people are getting the idea that a monthly fee of €15 for Game Pass Ultimate isn't going to make people stay subscribed consider the great value of the service. I've already gotten my money's worth by playing Destroy All Humans, which I was planning on buying for €20, so I saved €5. Now I'm playing through Walking Dead Season 2, which would've cost a fair amount as well. I still have half a month left to play other games and I'm planning on finishing up Man of Medan, another €20 game that I was planning on buying.
In other words, I don't really see why €15 is a lot of money when it only takes one or two games before you've gotten your money's worth for that month. There are over 300 games to choose from, either you don't like games at all considering that amount covers all kinds of genres, or you haven't even experienced Game Pass and are just talking out of pure spite for Microsoft. Changes like this to the subscription aren't going to have a huge impact because Game Pass already offers exceptional value and the people who are subscribed know that.
@Stocksy There will certainly be SOME churn, but the reality is most people will keep subbed.
Microsoft knows all the general human behaviour on this, it's the same time and again with different services - it's MUCH harder to drop a subscription than to pick one up and the longer you have it, the harder it is do drop.
I bought a bunch of the EA Play codes from ShopTo so it was £17/£18 for 4 months of GPU. Got 2 years to go still so i’m good. Such a great deal but shame for it to end. But of course it would.
@LtSarge Everyone's in a different position and for many £15 isn't good value to them, or they only play a few specific games. There's many people that Game Pass ISN'T a good fit for. £180 is a lot over a year, even more over a generation.
Personally I can easily afford it BUT because I don't play only on Xbox there are months that I don't use Game Pass at all.
I'm still subbed btw, but while I frequently say "it's the best value in video games" there are months that if I was ACTUALLY paying £15 I would not think I had got my moneys worth.
@LtSarge I don’t think lumping people into “you don’t like games” because they don’t want to pay $15/month for GamePass makes sense.
At some point you’ll have played everything from GamePass that appeals to you so why would you pay $15/month for something you aren’t using? It seems more reasonable to let that sub go until something shows up you want to play.
@LtSarge As mentioned by @themightyant I don't think this is a clear cut as you say. I managed to get a year GPU for about £50 which is great, but if I was on a rolling contract I'd probably stop for a few months as I just got Horizon Zero Dawn for free on PS5 and that is now taking up 100% of my gaming time (properly addicted to it now!).
I also got Stranded Deep on Plus which I was hoping to play so have no idea when I will get back onto GPU.
Right now I've paid up for the year but once that finishes I will imagine GPU will be bought in small periods when there are specific games to get through and it does work out to be cheaper like you say - possibly when Starfield or next Elder Scrolls is released?
@themightyant Then the issue isn't lack of value but instead lack of interest for the service. Most people who complain about Game Pass are people who aren't even interested in Game Pass to begin with. I can guarantee you that customer satisfaction is very high for this service for people who have been subscribed numerous times and Microsoft knows this. Anyway, the point is that you shouldn't mix the lack of value with a lack of interest. It's undoubtedly the case that Game Pass offers great value. If people aren't interested in subscription services then that's another topic.
@FatalBubbles That's why Microsoft keeps adding games in order to make people stay subscribed to the service. The truth of the matter is that most people don't actually play through everything they're interested in because there are already so many games on the service and games these days are just getting longer and longer. Therefore, if you combine this with the fact that Microsoft keeps adding games to the service, then people will have less of an incentive to unsubscribe.
@StonyKL That perspective can certainly be applied now. But what about in two or three years when a new Xbox exclusive is coming out every other month? And that is on top of other third-party games that will be added.
I agree that this isn't clear-cut as of this moment. But that will change in due time because of Microsoft's strategy of acquiring studios and constantly adding new must-play first-party exclusives to the service, such as Starfield or Halo Infinite.
Me and everyone that converted their Gold subscription to Game Pass Ultimate when the cheap conversion was available for the first time will see their subscription expire next year (2022). I wonder what options will we have although the full price of Game Pass and Ultimate is still worth it.
@LtSarge I’ve already gotten to that point. It’s not that hard to do. I think the longer you own GamePass the more likely you are to get to that point. For a new subscriber it’s downright incredible but I think the value slowly goes down the longer you’re a sub.
Hopefully there will be a lot more first party games on the service to keep people subscribed once their promotions run out. You can still get the EA play codes on offer for about £15-16 so still a bit of a saving plus you can get Game Pass with the reward points so not as expensive for a full year as you would think.
@LtSarge I see your point but as I said VALUE is different to different people. £15 a month is great value to ME but maybe not to others, it's entirely subjective.
Sensible people also won't see it as JUST £15...because it isn't. For most they will see £15 a month... every month... for years. Over the course of a potential 7 year generation that's £1,260. (The reality is MOST people don't sub for a month, un-sub and re-sub for the vast majority of subscription services, as MS well knows.)
While "I" can see the value of what that offers, many can't.
I don't think it's one size fits all and many may be interested in the service but don't see the value. That's also understandable and fair.
I know this is out of context but can anyone help me out my game pass games will not load my bought games are fine but the game pass games flash up on the screen then kick me back to the Home Screen my game pass membership is fine that’s not the problem if anyone knows how to solve it I’d be grateful
@LtSarge on a different tangent. If I wasn't signed up for 3 years I have thought about cancelling it. Not because I can't see the value Game Pass can offer but because my backlog is already unmanageable and I don't have the TIME to fully use it.
I usually end up playing games on Game Pass through FOMO and trying to justify the monthly sub rather than all the potentially better ones on my backlog.
I still haven't got round to Sekiro, Ghosts of Tsushima or THPS 1&2 for example. Instead was playing Donut County last night (good game btw, but not on the same level really)
@Sanqet
@themightyant @LtSarge @Carck
As someone who probably only spends 5 hours per week gaming, you can bet that I will be unsubscribing once the $15 per month becomes the only way to get it.
It is a great deal, but only if you have the time to take advantage of it.
At $75 per year, I'm down indefinitely. Once that goes up to $180, I will bow out gracefully.
I imagine many others are in the same boat. Sure most people are probably renewing monthly. But is most 90% or 60%?
@themightyant thanks I’ll give that a try why I get home
@Sanqet No worries. I was also going to say just wait. Sometimes it is a problem with xbox server. (Had this once or twice)
@LtSarge That is a very optimistic view of the future and one very welcome as well. To be bringing out a quality first party game every month would definitely be a game changer for Game Pass for me.
Interesting that everyone here always mentions "$15/mo" (or whatever local price), when people forget there is a "$10/mo" option as well if you don't care about Xbox Live Gold.
I know Microsoft tends to push Ultimate (because it's a darn great deal), but one could always save a little more money getting the single-platform, non-Gold Game Pass as well.
@Stocksy
It's no difference to other subscription services like Netflix or Spotify.
Unless you are really tight for money, the vast majority keep their sub rolling even if you have a dry month or two simply due to convenience and you never know when you might want to jump back in.
At the end of the day, what's £10.99 a month to the majority?
That's one takeway meal for couple. A few pints down the pub.
I think the only people that won't sub are the casuals that only buy maybe 2 or 3 games a year, such as the FIFA, COD and GTA V crowds.
Since getting Series X in December last year. I have played 47 games. 42 of which are from game Pass. I calculated I saved £388. This is baring in mind that If I had bought the game, played it and then sold it. I still would have lost £388.
@NotoriousWhiz @themightyant Well there you go then, the issue both of you are encountering is lack of time to fully take advantage of Game Pass. The tradeoff of paying €15 versus the time you spend using the service is simply not worth it. So in other words, if Microsoft hadn't offered these cheaper deals or "loopholes" then you wouldn't have considered subscribing to Game Pass at all. Therefore you two are in the category of people who shouldn't be interested in the service to begin with because you don't have the time to be using it, you're just subscribed because of a supposedly limited-time deal. On the other hand, people who actually find great value with Game Pass have both utilised the deal and are planning to remain subscribed even after the loopholes are removed. So this brings me back to my original point that there's a difference between lack of value and lack of interest and both of you are in the latter group of people. People who find value will remain and people who aren't interested will leave because they are the exceptions, not the primary users.
@LtSarge
"Therefore you two are in the category of people who shouldn't be interested in the service to begin with because you don't have the time to be using it, you're just subscribed because of a supposedly limited-time deal."
No no no. I didn't sign up for game pass because it's a limited-time deal. I signed up for game pass because it is good deal for me at $75 per year.
Everyone has a price point where something is worth it to them or not... For me, $75 = worth it, $180 = not worth it. I imagine those cutoffs will vary from person to person.
With most subscription services, the value you get is entirely dependent on the time you spend on it.
MMOs may be seen as not worth it if you can generally only spend a couple hours per month on it.
Amazon Prime, not worth it, if you only buy something from it twice per year.
Netflix, may not be worth it, if you only watch one series per year.
But if I was a Netflix die hard, who spent dozens of hours per week using it, maybe I'd be okay with spending $20 per month on it.
Or on a more relatable scenario, if I liked to watch everything under the sun all the time, maybe I'd subscribe to cable TV for $100 per month.
At the end of the day, as it relates to game pass, $180 is definitely no buy for me. But $75 is a definite buy for me. I'd probably be open to some numbers in between, but I haven't put that much thought into it.
(and for the record, losing online multiplayer is a non-starter)
@LtSarge I've been subbed to Game Pass for over 3 years, I have 3 years left on my sub AKA I have plenty of interest in the service, my point IS about VALUE.
It's absolutely great that you get so much use out of it, not knocking it, it's just not as open and shut for many people as it is for you. I truly wish I had so much time to play video games. (Some months I have a bit more which is why I keep the sub up + it introduces me to games I would otherwise never play + I believe it will offer even better value in future).
But you seem unable or unwilling to accept that people with other completely valid views don't see it in the same light, and also very keen on acting as a gatekeeper for the service. I don't really understand why. I don't need anyone to tell me whether I should or shouldn't be interested in a service!
If Microsoft were only aiming for the small niche of people who have time to play 3+ new games a month, Game Pass would be dead in the water, it takes many types of different users for subscription services to work, not just the elite hardcore.
As others have said they have plenty of interest in the service, they are just not sure it offers VALUE to them at £15/month. That's a 100% valid position to be in, it doesn't make your position untrue either.
As I said at the top, value is subjective, it's not right or wrong, everyone is coming from a different place of money, time, type of games they like to play etc. and for several of those people Game Pass doesn't offer good value to them.
@NotoriousWhiz Exactly!
@themightyant @NotoriousWhiz You've made your points, I have nothing more to add so I think it would be best for us to end it there. Thanks for an interesting talk! Apologies if I've caused any frustration. I realise now that I haven't been in the best mindset today and I probably should've thought things through a bit more before writing my initial post.
Eneba has 7day gpu vouchers, for like 70 cents. Grab ten, and you have 70 days or 2 months+ for, gasp, $7!
@LtSarge No harm, no foul. You had some fair points too, and we can all have bad days.
Hope your day picks up. Peace!
The message is bogus. Despite it saying it will only convert to 2 months, when you complete the redemption, it will still add 4 months. I just did this the other day with several EA Pass purchases.
@PhhhCough Yesterday I purchased a batch of 10 codes and 4 of them had already been redeemed. Credit to Eneba as they refunded me the very same day (impressive considering it was a Sunday). I then used the money they credited back to my account to try and replace the bad codes, but the same thing happened again, half of them had already been redeemed. I’m going to stop buying the codes now, it’s just too risky dealing with these grey market sites. Time to quit while I’m still ahead. I managed to stack up GamePass Ultimate until the end of March 2023 for ~£3/month so I’m happy with that.
@HungryHungryHomer I did it this morning and it was only 2
I think you got in before the change. I was waiting till later this month to bank all 4 and take me back to 3 full years.
Can't complain though I've been doing this for a while, still have 90,000+ MS points, and there will be other deals.
I paid €72 for 3 years of gpu, the thought of having to pay 15 a month is outrageous for me. The service is certainly worth the price, but I'd be paying way more. If my gpu expires and there's no way for me to get it this cheap anymore I'll probably stick to the ps platform again for a while because my ps plus is still running on that platform as well.
@Stocksy yep I will keep mine. Day one for all MS studio games makes it a lot cheaper than $70 for one game on the PlayStation side of the fence.
@LtSarge what's to say in 2 to 3 years when there's an exclusive every month (which I kinds doubt even with with volume of studios in the ranks now) that it isn't £20+ a month?
@blinx01 I like that your reasoning for not subbing to game pass is because people are "casual" gamers, I don't sub because I don't have loads of free time to be able to play 5 plus games month, I have a kids so that makes my game time more limited so I play games I want to play. If it had been around on the 360 I'd of had a rolling on because I was playing more as I had more free time.
@Cakefish damn. Didn't know they were such a crapshoot. I got ac:u and metro last light for $7. But my experience isnt the norm, I take it. Thanks for the heads up.
There are great deals to be found for game pass ultimate digital codes out there. just make sure you aren't buying codes for trial memberships and that it's for your country.
I too have to ask: How the heck could anyone, no matter the time they have to play games, not get value out of a 15 currency subscription that offers several hundred games, with monthly new additions?
How, just, how? I get the notion that some people play more and some less. I get the notion that some people are short on time. All well and fine, but still, you could either pay 15 a month and get a huge catalogue of install ready games or you pay (most likely) 2x - 4x the amount for just ONE single game. Does that make sense? Because, remember, if you BUY the game you still haven't got the time you wished you had. Plus, you might not like the game after all ... I'm not even mentioning perks, discounts, PC games, and Games with Gold. Oh, wait, I did ... moving on ...
The percentage of people who don't get their worth out of GPs 15 a month - roughly the price of two cinema tickets or two good meals - must be staggeringly low. And even among them, I'd wager, most just perceive it to be not worth it. It's a gut feeling. If they really would do the math, they would come to a different conclusion. I mean, people can do whatever they want with their money. You could light your farts with it, for all I care. But someone claiming GP right now isn't a great deal, for the vast majority of gamers, and doubting that most subs will be kept, are sleepwalkers in my eyes.
@themightyant
Bummer. I was hoping it was an empty threat. Now I wish I would have bought more.
@lokozar For many of those that play 20+ games a year and are embedded in gaming Game Pass may be a no brainer, though plenty have left reasons why not here too, but for the majority it's a harder sell.
(BTW I have GP Ult. just arguing the case for the other side as I have many friends who game but aren't' interested in GP)
Many players may only buy 3-6 games a year. Lets say GTAV, FIFA, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, Apex Legends & some indie, as examples though these could be anything.
Considering they may not pay full price (AC is usually £20 within 2 months) and some are older games they bought last year (GTA) or F2P, that's probably about the same as Game Pass Ultimate per year.
It becomes a question of whether you want to have a choice of 300+ random games OR the 6 games you actually want to, and have time to, play. Choice vs a random selection. If we're going to talk numbers PS Now is around 700, is that better than Game Pass? (no)
All i'm saying here, is that there are many types of gamer. Websites like this attract the ~1% of gamers, the VAST majority aren't hardcore enough to follow this or any website or post comments. Most gamers just play games when they can and for many of them Game Pass isn't the slam dunk it is to most of us here.
@themightyant
People around me, who don't buy into GP, simply don't understand what it really is or would mean for them. It's one of these things you have to use to clearly get a grasp.
When I tell them with GP they have a lot of games they could download any time and play, they answer that they most likely are not interested in many or even all of these games. So why pay 15 a month? But that's just the thing ... One of the statements you hear regularly from subscribers is that they have found gems, which otherwise they wouldn't have, because they never would have bought game X, Y, and Z. I'm sure, if my naysayers would try it out at least around 70% of them would stick, because then they suddenly get what's so valuable.
@Stocksy Yeah.
I did the 3-year trick. I own a Xbox Series X, I would never have paid for Game Pass otherwise. I dislike digital media subscriptions.
When my 3 years run out, if it is not possible to do that exact trick again (or better), I will move back to PlayStation. Although, I still do not like that those people started charging for online multiplayer and I will never pay for that there. PlayStation for their single player exclusives, PC for everything else.
@SegataSanshiro Agreed! Just because Game Pass is such a great deal for most of us hardcore gamers doesn’t mean it is for all.
The beauty is that Microsoft gives us that choice. If you like buying/“owning” games the traditional way there is that option. I hope that doesn’t change. I don’t want Game Pass to be the only option, people are different and choice is good.
@lokozar there’s certainly some truth in that, there are people that don’t understand game pass and if they gave it a go they may subscribe.
But what I, and others, have tried to express here is that it isn’t for everyone. There are many gamers who don’t want it for a whole host of reasons. Some here have tried it and unsubscribed. It isn’t one size fits all. That doesn’t stop it being great value to you, it’s just not for them, We’re all different.
@Kopite
I don't mean casual as in an offensive term trying to demean anyone, but casual in terms of limited playtime or games played.
FIFA, COD and GTA V are great examples because these are games that can be played in short sessions online in 20-30 mins bursts.
If you have 14 day trial codes (From controllers and other first party devices) save them up, and allow your subscription to run out. One you are out of your subscription, enter one of the codes and opt in for auto renewal (can be cancelled anytime). Auto renewal gives you an extra month free on top of those 14 days. It may not work for every single person but it has for me several times.
Currently, I don't really use GP very much, but once the likes of Flight Sim, The Acsent, Halo, Forza and Fable come around, the value proposition at the current price will significantly increase. (I do expect a price increase in the next 12 months).
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