It’s no secret that Xbox Game Pass is one of the best value-for-money products available on the market for gamers right now. It gives you instant access to hundreds of games to download and play at an instant, all for one reasonable fee. In more recent times, this has included some new releases on day one. If you buy multiple games a year, this can be a massive money saver. Several variants of Xbox Game Pass exist for you to choose from. We’re looking at the offerings of Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to see which one fits your needs best!
Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: The Basics
Looking at Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, we need to establish the basic facts before we can begin. The main issue depends on what console you’re playing on.
If you’re someone who plays exclusively on PC and doesn’t own an Xbox One or Series X/S, then the answer should be immediately straightforward. Xbox PC Game Pass caters exclusively to PC players, meaning your account won’t have access to the service on console. As a result, it’s slightly cheaper to pick up.
Are you a gamer with both a gaming PC and an Xbox console? If so, then the Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate debate isn’t quite as straightforward. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you the full library on both console and PC, but is $7 more expensive. So if you rarely use your Xbox, it’s up to you to decide just how much that is going to be worth it for you. Ultimately, it’s a personal decision in this regard. On top of all of this, there’s one more benefit to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. With the Xbox Cloud Gaming service which is still in Beta, you can now play the Ultimate library on your mobile device, too. It’s a feature not everyone will benefit from but it may be a massive plus for some gamers.
If you’re a gamer that doesn’t have a PC at all then Xbox PC Game Pass is useless to you, meaning Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is your way forward.
Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: The Price
No matter which version of Xbox Game Pass you purchase, you’re always going to be getting a better deal than purchasing the games on the service individually. Make no mistake, we’re splitting hairs here. But when discussing the benefits of Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, then it’s impossible to ignore.
First, there’s Xbox PC Game Pass. As of right now, the service is available for $9.99 a month. For this, you get instant access to over 400 games on PC, and more arriving all the time. This includes numerous PC exclusives that are unavailable on Xbox, such as Age of Empires and Crusader Kings III. It also gives you complete access to the EA Play subscription service at no extra cost, opening up an entirely new catalog of games to choose from.
Compare this to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It offers all of the above, as well as access to the Xbox catalog to play on your home console. This includes a few great exclusives that are yet to make their way to PC, including the likes of Halo 5: Guardians and Rare Replay. This will set you back $16.99 a month, a considerable hike in price when compared to Xbox PC Game Pass. It’s impossible to quantify the value of playing on a console with a few extra games. That’s up to you and your personal situation.
Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Cloud Saves
The conversation about Xbox Game Pass can’t happen without discussing cloud saves. This amazing feature will benefit players of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate more than Xbox PC Game Pass, and we’ll explain why.
If you’re a gamer that likes to hop between platforms, it used to be frustrating to have to restart your progress all over again. The cloud has changed that entirely. Xbox Game Pass allows your saves to continue no matter where you’re playing through the use of cloud technology. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate player with the same game on PC and Xbox, you can seamlessly jump between the two, exactly where you left off last time.
Technically you can see the same benefit via Xbox PC Game Pass, but it’s much rarer for someone to be gaming on two different PCs as opposed to one PC and one Xbox.
Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: The Games
Despite all of the finer details, it’s the games that really matter when it comes to choosing a version of Xbox Game Pass.
Of the two, there’s a clear winner in this regard. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you every single game available on the service, as long as you’ve got the right platforms to play them on. You’ll miss out on some great titles if you restrict yourself to the PC offerings.
The future looks very bright for subscribers to either service. The recent acquisition of Bethesda means that Starfield is going to be available on the service on day one of release. Once Microsoft finally completes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, you’ll be able to find games like Diablo IV and the Call of Duty series on there too. It’s a big win for the company, and should result in huge growth for Xbox Game Pass.
That’s everything you need to know when you’re deciding between Xbox PC Game Pass vs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Hopefully we’ve been able to give you some clarity to help you decide between the two, as it can definitely be a daunting decision to make if you’ve never had the service before. Know that no matter which one you choose from, you’re getting incredible value for money for a bulk of incredible video games.