
The Xbox Game Pass price system works across three tiers: Console, PC, and Ultimate. By signing up for an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you immediately get access to hundreds of games, and by combining that with a discount on the membership, you are really walking away with huge value for your money. What's clear is that Xbox Game Pass has a branding problem with no easy solution.Obtaining the best Xbox Game Pass deal on the market is how to turn a good deal into a great one. Games like Hellblade: Senua’s Saga could deliver a “prestige” experience on Xbox to draw more folks to Game Pass, but it is too early to speculate on that. Outside of Cuphead and the Ori franchise, Xbox doesn’t have universally beloved titles like those on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. That said, better first-party titles could help. However, it’s hard imagining big publishers like Ubisoft, Square Enix, or EA putting their games on Game Pass at launch and potentially undermining sales. Having more third-party games releasing at launch or near launch could help. Xbox owners know about the service and what it providess, so clearly visibility isn’t an issue. It’s right there front and center on the Xbox dashboard whenever they turn on their console. So how does Microsoft get more Xbox Live members to upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate? Users know the service exists. To them, Game Pass doesn’t have much to offer. No dedicated CoD player is going to wait almost a year to get their fix.

And though it’s not a sports game, we can also lump the Call of Duty series into this category. If you’re a hardcore Madden player, you won’t want to wait eight months to play the most recent entry when a new one is right around the corner. As I said up top, it is rare for Game Pass to get third-party games at launch. Game Pass has little value for this group. The people who buy these titles vastly outnumber the amount of “core” gamers. Sports games on annual schedules, such as FIFA, Madden and NBA2K, account for a large portion of yearly game sales.
