The January 25 Xbox Game Pass update is adding a new day-one title in the form of Go Mecha Ball. This hectic indie release promises to add to the already sizable collection of high-quality roguelike games on Xbox Game Pass.
05.01.2024 - 18:31 / wccftech.com / Xbox Game
2023 was a good year for both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, with Microsoft and Sony putting plenty of quality content on both subscription services, but with the year now behind us, which offered the best overall value? Well, the folks at The Loadout actually did the math, tallying up the value of the games added to both Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus this year, with the latter arguably coming out on top.
If you signed up for the PS Plus Extra tier for the entirety of 2023, you got 205 games (37 monthly Essential-tier titles and 168 Extra-tier catalog titles) worth a sum total of $7,459.59. Not bad! That total went even higher if you signed up for PS Plus Premium, which added an additional 46 “classic” titles bringing to the overall tally for 2023 to $ 8,030.13 worth of games. So yes, this kind of underlines what most people already know – Premium isn’t really that much of a value-add, and PS Plus Extra is the sweet spot.
Meanwhile, if you signed up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is the most comparable subscription tier to PS Plus Extra price-wise, you got 150 games worth a sum total of $4,935.66 in 2024. Looking at the Xbox/PC split, there were $4,869.61 worth of games added for Xbox consoles, and $4,769.64 worth of games added for PC specifically.
Of course, just tallying up the number of games released for Game Pass and PS Plus respectively doesn’t give you the full value proposition of either service. Most notably, Game Pass offers first-party titles on Day 1, which PS Plus does not (although Sony's service does get some third-party Day 1 releases). Still, this breakdown shows Game Pass isn’t as far ahead of PS Plus as you might think – in terms of quantity and overall basic dollar value, Sony is actually offering the better deal.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs $17 a month and PlayStation Plus Extra will set you back $15 a month. Which game subscription services did you sign up for in 2023? Were you satisfied with what you got for your money?
The January 25 Xbox Game Pass update is adding a new day-one title in the form of Go Mecha Ball. This hectic indie release promises to add to the already sizable collection of high-quality roguelike games on Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate added additional perks for subscribers to redeem. The perks cover a wide variety of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate titles, so users should consider checking them out to see if any of their favorite games are included.
The multiplayer monster-collecting game Palworld is now available on Xbox Game Pass in early access. Developed and published by Pocketpair, the game is available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PC via Game Pass and Steam. Palworld has been dubbed “Pokemon with guns” by the developer and offers players the chance to fight and team up with creatures called Pals, while also crafting and exploring the game's vast open world and dungeons.
The recent Xbox Developer Direct has confirmed previous leaks that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is launching for PC and Xbox Series X/S on Tuesday, May 21 as a day one Xbox Game Pass game. The original Hellblade is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning game, and so expectations are high for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
Xbox Game Pass growth is slowing down, a newly emerged analyst report suggests. This bit of unofficial insight into the popular service could help explain why there are currently no up-to-date Xbox Game Pass subscriber figures to speak of.
Based on a recent series of tweets from Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke, it doesn't sound like Baldur's Gate 3 will be coming to any subscription service like PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass anytime soon. Vincke's discussion comes shortly after discourse surrounding a Ubisoft CEO saying fans should get used to not owning their games was shared in many online circles; in short, it seems Vincke wholeheartedly disagrees.
The talk of video game subscription services has come from many different places over the last week or so. You might remember an article we wrote yesterday about statements Ubisoft made about gaming subscription services in the wake of their upcoming Ubisoft+ service. But the “king” of such services is easily the Xbox Game Pass. The point of the service is to make scores of games available to players for just $10 a month. Plus, some games will be “day one releases” of significant gaming titles. Microsoft has been quick to tout the success of their service, but how well is it really doing?
The January 18 Xbox Game Pass update will introduce two additional games to the service: F1 23 and Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. These releases mark the second expansion of Microsoft's subscription catalog since the turn of the week, arriving just two days after Xbox Game Pass added two acclaimed horror games in the form of Those Who Remain and the Resident Evil 2 remake.
Xbox Game Pass is known for its continually expanding library of games, but along with the frequent additions to the subscription service, it does occasionally lose some titles as well. Games that are set to be removed are usually announced alongside additions, so it's often easy to prepare for the changes coming in a month ahead of time. Even with an active subscription, games can't be played after they leave the service, so having enough heads-up for a decent window to play the game tends to ease a lot of potential frustration.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is coming to Xbox Game Pass on Thursday, September 5, 2024 as a day one game. STALKER fans have well over a decade to get their hands on STALKER 2. Unfortunately, the ambitious first-person shooter has been delayed multiple times, with this latest delay seeing it pushed out of its previously-announced Q1 2024 release window.
Xbox Game Pass has been busy this week, adding two new games on January 16, revealing new games coming later this month and in February, and also confirming a new day-one Xbox Game Pass title for some time this year: Frostpunk 2. This highly anticipated sequel follows the original apocalyptic survival city-builder game and asks a dangerous question in a frozen wasteland: what's next? The biggest external threats are gone, and only internal ones remain.
The Xbox Game Pass additions keep rolling in with the new year, with January 16 seeing Resident Evil 2 and Those Who Remain join Microsoft's subscription service, and even more is on the horizon. Alongside their additions, Microsoft took the time to confirm the next five games coming to Xbox Game Pass in January, as well as the two coming in February.