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Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of monthly subscription plans from Microsoft. It comes with a ton of perks: Game Pass can be enjoyed on both a console and a PC, the entire EA Play library is included, and members also get access to special discounts and cloud streaming. On the other end of the spectrum, gamers get the Standard edition, which is sold separately for the console and PC.
The higher tier of the Game Pass costs $16.99 a month. The cheaper alternative used to be sold for $9.99 up until recently when the Redmond-based tech giant hiked the prices to $10.99 a month. Although the difference doesn't seem like much, it accumulates to a big sum over time.
In this article, we will compare the two tiers of the plan and try to answer which is more value for money for gamers. We will compare everything from the game libraries to the features and the practicality of the plans.
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Is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate more value for money than Standard?
Before delving deeper into the comparison, let's look at the features bundled with the three tiers of the plan:
As evident from the table above, the three versions of the Game Pass plan have vast differences. Game Pass for PC has some notable differences from the console version, while Game Pass Ultimate seemingly clubs the best of these two plans.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass for PC — which one should you choose?
On PC, the Ultimate tier of the plan has little to offer. The only extra features one gets are cloud streaming and access to the Game Pass library on the console. If you don't own an Xbox, the costlier plan makes zero sense. In addition, if you don't care about cloud streaming or live in an unsupported region like India, there's no reason to pay $6 extra every month.
The Game Pass Ultimate plan has been built especially for those who play games on both a console and a computer. Thus, based on what devices you own, call dibs on either of the plans.
Xbox Game Pass for Console vs Game Pass Ultimate — Which is the better choice?
Unlike what we concluded for PC gamers, the story is slightly different on the console. Xbox requires you to have the Xbox Live Gold subscription (which costs $9.99/month) if you wish to play online multiplayer games. Luckily, Ultimate bundles features of Live Gold with Game Pass into a cheaper $14.99 plan ($4.99 off per month). In addition, you also get access to cloud streaming and the library on a PC if you have one.
With the rising popularity of online multiplayer, most gamers have to pay a monthly fee to access the console's internet features. Thus, it only makes sense to pay $5 more every month to potentially save some costs on purchasing new video games. Since there are multiple day-one releases on the monthly subscription plan, it is more value for money than buying the standard Console edition.
