RetroMan71

@MTR54 Thanks mate. I've now downgraded to Essential which should start in November when my Ultimate expires. I've also purchased a few games I regularly play too.

@Blue_Rover OK! Thanks, I'll take a look at that 👍

I still find the Ultimate tier a weird combination. It's like they needed to add some benefits to try and justify a monthly cost hike...

"I know, lets speak with Ubisoft and see if they're interested in adding their classic games... Oh! Even better, Fortnite is all the rage in gaming, lets add something to do with that too."

"Four Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early October 2025"...

and so are thousands of subscribers... 😁

@Blue_Rover Ah well. Yeah, I turned off auto renew too. I'll just let it expire and sub to Essential.

Regardless of whether I could get Ultimate cheaper, the package isn't for me and my gaming habits anymore. It might be full of extras and give access to a lot more games and rewards, but I just don't think I would benefit from most of them to justify the monthly cost.
Essential is simple and that suits me fine. It still includes the games I am currently playing and I'm happy with that. I might be missing out on Day One games, but most of them might not be to my liking, but if they are, then I can make the decision to buy them.

@Blue_Rover Do you mind me asking how you downgraded? My Ultimate expires next month, but when I go to cancel, it basically says 'We can't cancel your subscription. It will expire automatically.'

@FraserG Wow! I applaud you sir. My head hurts just reading through this post and the ratio jargon 😊

I don't see Hades?? I thought that was part of Essential? 🤔

Edit: Apologies, near the bottom 😖 Vampire Survivors is there too and Deep Rock Galactic... YESSS!!

@Kezelpaso It will, I can feel it in my bones... 😁

Nope... saving the space for BF6. Roll on next Friday, not been this excited for a game launch in ages 🤗🤩

Looking at what games I currently play through GP, I will be downgrading to Essential. I have no need or don't really want to pay for the extra added benefits with Ultimate.

It turns out that I can still play Hades and Deep Rock on the Essential tier, so that's all I need to know.

I'm definitely moving onto the Essential tier just to see what 50+ games I have available to play. I'm currently only playing Hades, Deep Rock & Bolatro at the minute, so hopefully they'll still be available. Besides, BF6 is out soon and I will be buying that so all other games may take a back seat for a while 😁

I've played most of these, some I have no interest in, I own The Division, so this definitely isn't of any benefit to me to be honest. I've been looking at the new tier descriptions as well, and Ultimate isn't for me anymore. I think I'll be downgrading to the Essential to see how that works for me...

@Balaam_ 🤣🤣 That's funny...

So the changes come into effect as of today then?

Oh! 😖 that stings a little to be honest. It's not just Ultimate going up, it's the cost of living in general lately too. My Ultimate ends in November, so I might have to rethink all my subscriptions overall.

@Ricky-Spanish It is great... I use the Antstream Arcade more to be honest, but I do love seeing and having access to more of the 'Retro' games.

@TrevorP86 Everyone seems to have a different experience with these kind of services.

Oh look, crashed Tie Fighter at 6:06 😁

Oh man, this is giving me BF4 vibes for sure. I had a great time with BF back then. Can't wait... 👍😬👍

🤣 OK! Somebody get me a doctor... my sides are splitting 🤣

I don't often say this, but day 1 for me too. I've already reserved my hard earned cash for this 😁
Black Ops 6 has been resident to my HDD for nearly a year now, and I did have fun with it, but it will have to make way for Battlefield.

I've only just started playing Hades 1, thanks to Game Pass and, Yes! It took a while to get on the hype train 😁 absolutely love the game.
Now, I believe we may have to wait a while for the Hades 2 XBOX release, so I'm really tempted to buy the Switch version.

I had a lot of fun with BO6 multiplayer, but wasn't a big fan of the daft skins. My focus is on Battlefield, I can't wait to get stuck in to that.

@Kieduss Exactly... Game Pass and the MS rewards has allowed me to play so many great games that I otherwise can't justify paying outright for.

Looks wacky, which I don't mind. It's not making me feel like I need to play it, but it's going to be on GamePass, so I will definitely give it a go.

@Medic_alert Yes, top notch indeed. I've been playing a lot over the weekend. It feels so polished. The gameplay is super smooth, the art style is amazing, and I'm a big fan of the Greek God Theme.

I've been spending a lot of time with this game, how-ever, Hades has taken over for the time being. Game Pass has been a blessing for me lately.

@FraserG Yes you did 😁, I was hooked immediately. It feels so polished too, the artwork, the dialogue, just everything.

Hades... WOW! How did I not play it sooner, what a great game. I didn't play anything else, just Hades 🤣

Woah! One of my favourite genres back in the day and I still love them today. Hope it has leaderboards. I'll definitely pick this up.

Edit: Just read the review... It does have leaderboards 😁

😛 Sooo looking forward to playing this.

Never played this but heard a lot of good things about it. Sounds like it is like the recent Rogue Prince, where each run rewards and you get stronger? I do like that....

Sounds great and looks great. I'll give the free demo a try if it's still available.

Been really looking forward to Deep Rock, so I'll be definitely playing that later.

"Ready for a fun new arcade racing game on Xbox Series X|S?!"

You bet I am... 😮

It's like nothing I've ever played to be honest, and I've been strangely looking forward to this 👍

Oh exciting! Now I do feel that this is one of those games I would pay for, as I feel you could potentially spend a lot of time with the game. Unfortunately, BF6 isn't to far around the corner and my pennies are reserved for that. I'll just enjoy the YouTubes video gameplay for now.

I played BL 1&2 and found them really fun, so I'd definitely like to give this a go. Unfortunately, Battlefield isn't to far behind and I need my hard earned money for that.

I did start to play it over the weekend, but I'm not itching to get back into it... it just didn't get me hooked, but I will try again.

@GameOverScreen This is what I love about GamePass. I too can't afford to buy all the games I'd love to play, so when one does appear that you're interested in playing, it's a nice feeling.

@darkswabber Apologies... I didn't phrase that correctly.
Everyone seemed excited about the release of Silksong, because Hollow Knight gets high praise... that's what I should've said 😁
I never played Hollow Knight, but I will give Silksong a go.

Silksong is highly prasied, so it's time to find out what all the fuss is about. Cataclismo has my interest peaked though.

I Am Your Beast looks interesting...
How-ever, not on the list, I'm really looking forward to Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor on the 17th.

This was one of those rare games that gave me serious motion sickness, so I never returned to finish it. Also, the incredibly stupid AI spoiled the experience for me as well.

This game appeals to me so much, yet I don't play it so much.
The strange thing also, is, I played it more before all the updates were added.... I really need to jump back in.

@M20B25 HAHA! That's great.

I'll play the campaign purely for the 360 nostalgia.

Yeah, Deep Rock Survivor looks brilliant fun.