Looking back, 2023 was a year full of great games. If you want to try them all, it can get very expensive very quickly. Unless you’re a Game Pass subscriber. It turns out that the Game Pass service is hosting just over $5,000 worth of games by 2023, but how many of them have you actually played?
We ask because, while that’s a pretty eye-catching number for Game Pass, as The Loadout found, it doesn’t quite equate to the actual value people get from Game Pass, does it? ? Of all the subscribers to the service, is one downloading and playing every new game on consoles, PC and cloud gaming? What about the 50% off Game Pass games?
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Personally, I’ve never had Game Pass running for longer than a month in my life. The reason is simple – it’s a great service to try new games at a cheaper price. That’s why I tried Hi-Fi Rush, the best game of 2023, Dead Space Remastered, and Yakuza: Isin. It also allowed me to avoid a few bugs at full price, including Redfall and Starfield. Some big releases over the course of a few months… might be worth it.
Our own senior writer Mark Warren had a similar experience, using Game Pass on several games throughout the year. These include Forza Motorsport, Justin, Like a Dragon: Gaiden and Madden 2023. He left his sub rolling, but dropped to base PC Game Pass after the free Game Pass Ultimate trial month expired. All in all, it’s worth it.
But both of us pale in comparison to video producer Jim Trinca and associate editorial director Tom Orry. Both claim to have played over 16 and 30 games respectively. Mixing AAA and indie games together, it’s safe to think of these two guys as power users rather than casual Game Pass players. When it comes to pure statistics, each of us manages to play enough games to cover the annual price tag.
There was also the discovery factor, which Jim was particularly keen on, as it encouraged him to check out Bookwalker and Weird West – two games he later purchased during the Steam sale and had on his Steam Deck. Regardless, game developers and publishers have documented the wave of new players Game Pass has brought to their games.
2024 also looks like a year to remember when it comes to Game Pass. STALKER 2 has tons of potential, Persona 3: Reloaded looks fantastic based on our early previews, and Flintlock: Dawn of Siege looks to be exactly what we’ve been looking for The perfect combination of third person action.
Tell us below how many Game Pass games you downloaded last year. Ultimately, the whole selling point of the service is the added value of owning an expensive, large console or PC that can run these games. That’s all good if you’re like us and get your money’s worth. If you’re not, does the $5,000 really matter?
