Let's break them down, shall we? Xbox Game Pass Core is the cheapest version of the service, and it's basically a replacement for Xbox Live Gold that went away in 2023. The idea is to give you access to online multiplayer for a small-ish fee per-month, and you also get a small but decent selection of older Game Pass titles to play as well.
PC Game Pass is pretty self-explanatory. This is a PC-only tier that gives you access to all the Game Pass titles included as part of the Xbox PC app (which is hundreds), and you even get a wide selection of EA Play games as well.
Then, we've got Xbox Game Pass Standard. This is the newest addition to the lineup, and the idea behind this one is to give you most of the benefits of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate but at a lower price. The catch is that most "day one" releases on the service are held back until the future, with the likes of Starfield, Hellblade 2 and even Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 all not included right now. You don't get EA Play or Xbox Cloud Gaming either.
And finally, we come to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This is the very best tier for Xbox Game Pass that you can subscribe to today, providing access to hundreds of games across console, PC and cloud, including all future titles that have been announced for the service - such as Stalker 2, Indiana Jones and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Here's how each tier stacks up in terms of their official pricing on the Xbox website:
- Xbox Game Pass Core - £6.99 / $9.99 p/m
- PC Game Pass - £9.99 / $11.99 p/m
- Xbox Game Pass Standard - £10.99 / $14.99 p/m
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate - £14.99 / $19.99 p/m
So, which is the best to sign up for? If you're a hardcore Xbox Game Pass fan like us, we still highly recommend Xbox Game Pass Ultimate above all others. We've got a bunch of exciting day one releases on the way that Standard members will have to miss out on, and don't forget there are ways of saving on that £14.99 / $19.99 per-month fee - various retailers offer discounts on Xbox Game Pass subscriptions from time to time, and investing a bunch of effort into Microsoft Rewards means you could save a lot of money over the year.
PC Game Pass obviously serves the PC-only community, but keep in mind that you get it included with Game Pass Ultimate as well. If you're not really that fussed by what Game Pass has to offer, but you wouldn't mind a small library of titles along with online multiplayer, Xbox Game Pass Core should keep you pretty happy too.
That's how we see it - unless you're a PC-only gamer, we'd say Game Pass Core (for the casual fans) and Game Pass Ultimate (for the diehards) makes the most sense. Standard is fine, but hard to recommend for any particular audience.
How about you? Which of the four tiers are you picking at the moment? Let us know in the poll.
