Does the Xbox Series X and S come with Game Pass?

Hundreds of games and first parry titles available from day one: is there a better deal than Game Pass on Xbox?

I don’t think!

Game Pass Ultimate has slowly established itself as the Netflix of the gaming world. It’s nearly cemented it place as amust have on the gamer’s list of goodies.

So that got me thinking: considering Game Pass is such a big deal, does a new Xbox Series X or S come with Game Pass or do you have to buy it separately?

Well, after doing a little research, sadly the answer isn’t as clear cut as you might hope…

So does the Xbox Series X and S come with Games Pass? Sometimes, and you have to pay for it regardless. Many new Xbox Series X and S come with a game pass offer where you can get 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate for only $1. Then after the 3-months is up, you pay $14.99 on a rolling contract. However, this offer isn’t always available so you have to separately sign up for Game Pass.

Ok, so there’s a chance your new Xbox Series X or S will come with a code to get game pass ultimate for 3 month for only $1. How bfab is that? If you cash in your 3-month coupon at the right time, you could be playing some of the best 1st party tiles, such as Forza 5, Halo: infinite, and Forza Motorsport for just 1 dollar.

But what if your Xbox doesn’t come with the 1 dollar deal? What if you just want to get normal Game Pass and not the all-encompassing, eat-all-you-want see-food diet that is, Game Pass Ultimate? What saving could you make, if any?

Don’t worry, all will be detailed in the coming sections.

What is the difference between Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass ultimate?

Before I take a running dive into the prices, deals, and costs of buying Game Pass ultimate I wanted to touch on the difference between Xbox the normal, or base, Game Pass and Game Pass ultimate as they are two different things.

Let’s take look at a comparison between the two services:

The big difference between Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate is the fact that for an extra $5 dollars a month, or $60 a year, Game Pass Ultimate offers online play, free games on Xbox Live, and EA play.

Choosing between Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate depends mainly on whether you’ll be playing online and if you want the monthly free games that come with Xbox Live Gold.

I, for example, play mainly single-player games. So I only pay for the normal Game Pass.

Now you know the difference between both Game Pass plans, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can get Xbox Game Pass with your Xbox.

Xbox Series X and S All Access Cost analysis Vs Buying Game Pass Ultimate Separately

Xbox All Access is a method of buying an Xbox Series X or S on credit. By paying a low monthly fee instead of buying the console outright, along with the console, you also get access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for 2 years.

You pay for your Xbox Series X or S each month for a total of 24 months. At which point you will have fully paid off your Xbox Series console, and you’ll have to start paying for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate separately.

In this section, I’ll break down the cost of buying your Xbox with Xbox All Access. That way, we’ll find out if it’s cheaper than buying an Xbox console and Game Pass ultimate separately.

Let’s take a look at each console:

Xbox Series X All Access

The Xbox Series X All Access, which includes Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, costs $34.99 per month. So let’s dust off the old calculator and take a look at how much you’d end up paying over the 24-month agreement:

$34.99 x 24 = $839.76

The Xbox Series X, over the 24 month agreement, will cost you $839.76. Not bad considering the Xbox Series X alone is worth $499.99.

But how does this compare to buying your Xbox Series X and Game Pass Ultimate separately? We know that Xbox Game pass Ultimate costs $14.99 per month. So let’s see how much that would cost over 2 years or 24 months.

$14.99 x 24 = $359.76

That’s $359.76 to get Game Pass Ultimate for 2 whole years.

So what’s the total cost of buying an Xbox Series X and Game Pass Ultimate separately?

$499.99 (Xbox X) + $359.76 (Game Pass ultimate for 2 years) = $859.75

So if you buy Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and an Xbox Series X separately, you’ll pay $859.75.

As it turns out, Xbox All Access is cheaper.

You’ll pay $19.99 dollars less over the two years if you buy Xbox All Access over buying the Xbox And Game Pass Ultimate separately.

However, the tables turn if you have a packed-in offer of 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar. Then the price drops by $45! So you only have to pay for 21 months out of the 24 months. This brings the price down to $814.75. This makes buying your Xbox and Game Pass Ultimate cheaper than ALL Access by $25!

Ok, that’s nice little saving, but what about the Xbox Series S?

Xbox Series S All Access

Xbox Series S All Access, just like the Xbox Series X version, includes Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as Part of a monthly payment of $24.99. I’ll pull out my newly dusted off calculator and do some math to see how much that’ll cost you over the 24-month contract:

$24.99 x 24 = $599.76

So the Xbox Series S All access will only cost you just shy of $600. Again, not bad considering the Xbox Series S is a $300 console.

But I want to compare this price to how much it would cost to buy an Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate separately to see if you can make a saving. Let’s see how much Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $14.99 a month, would cost over a 2 year period:

$14.99 x 24 = $359.76

Again, that’s $359.76 to get game pass ultimate for 2 whole years.

So what’s the total costs of getting an Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate separately? Let’s crunch the numbers:

$299.99(Xbox Series S) + $359.76(game Pass Ultimate) = $659.75

So buying an Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate separately costs $659.75 dollars. That means Xbox Series S All Access is a a full $59.99 chapter than buying the Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate separately. That’s not a bad little saving!

However, there is one thing I havent taken into account: The Pack-in 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar.

Assuming 3 months go Game Pass Ultimate would cost $45, the cost of buying Game Pass Ultimately separately after that saving would equal: $614.75 which is still more than buying an Xbox Series S on All Access.

Cost analysis of Xbox Series X and S and buying Game Pass Ultimate from a 3rd party.

Though Microsoft would probably have you believe otherwise, you don’t have to buy Xbox Game Pass ultimate directly from Microsoft. You can buy pre-paid Game pass Ultimate voucher cards from companies such as Amazon.

Often Amazon, along with other retailers, will sell these vouchers at a deep discount. So I wanted to do a quick comparison of how much money you could potentially save.

Keep in mind that the price of Game Pass Ultimate vouchers on websites like Amazon constantly fluctuates, you may get a lower price listed here, you might get a higher price. All I know is this: it pays to wait for sales such as Amazon Prime Day.

I found an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3 months voucher selling on Amazon.com for $29.99 (Keep in mind this is at the time of writing). That’s a fantastic price when you considering game Pass ultimate bought directly from Mircosoft costs $44.97 for 3 months. So buying from Amazon gives you a saving of 33.3%. But how much would it cost on Amazon to buy 2 years’ worth of Game pass ultimate, the same as Xbox All Access?

It’s that time again: Let’s mince some number with math!

$29.99(3 months of Game Pass ultimate) x 8(need 8 vouchers for 2 years) = $239.92

Normally, over the same 2 year period, Xbox Game Pass would cost you $359.76 if bought directly from Microsoft. So buying from Amazon gives you a saving of $119.84. That’s not bad at all, is it?

That’s more than enough cash saved over two years to buy yourself a few 3rd party games not found on Xbox Game Pass.

So how does this compare to Xbox All Access? Well, let’s take a look?

Xbox Series X All Access Vs Amazon Game Pass ultimate Vouchers

An Xbox Series X and Game Pass Ultimate bought using Xbox Series X All access would cost you $839.76

As we established above 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate vouchers from Amazon would cost $239.92. Let’s add this cost to an Xbox Series X:

$499.99(Xbox Series X) + $239.92(Game Pass ultimate from Amazon) = $739.91

So buying Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in voucher form from Amazon could potentially give you a saving of $99.85. Again, a fantastic saving!

Also, keep in mind that if you have a 3-month Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar deal with your Xbox you can buy 1 less 3-month voucher, saving you another $28.99.

So that brings the cost down even more to $710.92

What about the Xbox Series S? let’s take a look…

Xbox Series S All Access Vs Amazon Game Pass ultimate Vouchers

An Xbox Seires S and Game pass ultimate bought using Xbox Series S All Access will cost you $599.76.

Let’s compare that to buying he Xbox Series S along with 8, 3 month Game Pass Ultimate vouchers on Amazon.

$299.99(Xbox Series S) + $239.92(Game Pass Ultimate Voucher) = $539.91

So what does that $539.91 price mean? Well, it means you’ll be paying $59.85 dollars less for your Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate by using Amazon-bought vouchers compared to just using Xbox All Access. That’s a 10% decrease in price.

Just like above with the Xbox Series X, if you have a 3-month Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar deal with your Xbox you can buy 1 less 3-month voucher, saving you another $28.99. that bring the price down even further to just $510.92

But hang on, I mentioned above that Xbox Game Pass is $5 cheaper per month than Xbox game Pass ultimate. What saving can you make if you just go for the cheaper service? Let’s take a look…

Xbox Series X and S Game Pass Vs Game Pass ultimate Cost analysis.

Throughout this article, I’ve been comparing the prices of Xbox All Access. I’ll be doing the same here. Just keep in mind with All Access you get access to Game Pass Ultimate. These new prices will be just Game Pass.

You won’t have access to online gaming or EA Play. But if your anything like me and you just like playing single-player games, this won’t a problem. So let’s take a look…

First of all let’s figure out how much Game Pass costs over a 24 month, or 2 year, period.

$9.99(Cost of Game Pass per month) x 24 = $239.76

That’s a substantial saving over Game pass ultimate which costs $359.76 over the same 2 year period.

But how do these savings stack up when compared for both Xbox Series S and All Access? Let’s dive into the math.

Xbox Series X Game Pass Vs Game Pass ultimate Cost analysis.

I’ll start off again with the Xbox Series X. As we know from previous sections Xbox Series X all Access costs $839.76 spread over a two year period.

But that includes Game Pass ultimate which drives up the price. Would the cost come down if we bought an Xbox Series X and normal Game Pass separately? Let’s take a look:

$499.99(Xbox Series X) + $239.76(Game Pass) = $739.75

That means buying the Game Pass and an Xbox Series X separately costs $100.01 less over two years when compared to getting an Xbox Series X and Game Pass ultimate using Xbox All Access. Not bad!

But there’s fly struggling for life in this tasty looking bowl of soup: Amazon Game Pass ultimate Vouchers.

Remember above: you could buy an Xbox Series X and 2 years’ worth of Game Pass Ultimate vouchers separately on Amazon for $739.91.

That’s only $0.16 extra! And for that 16 cents you get access to online play, extra games from EA, and extra free games with Xbox Live Gold.

So, if you can find Game Pass Ultimate Vouchers on Amazon, or any other store, for anywhere near approaching $29.99 for 3 months, I’d buy them.

But how does the 3-months Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar pack-in deal affect these numbers? After all, you’re going to make use of that packed in 1 dollar deal if you have access to it.

Well, it effectively saves you 30 dollars. So, if you made use of your 3-month Game Pass Ultimate pack-in deal the price would drop even further to $709.75. Not bad!

But what about the Xbox Series S?

Xbox Series S Game Pass Vs Game Pass ultimate Cost analysis.

Xbox Series S All Access, which also includes Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, costs $599.76 over a 2 year period. A great price as is. But how does that compare to just buying the console and normal Game Pass separately? I sense a bit more math coming on…

$299.99(Xbox Series S) + $239.76(Game Pass) = $539.75

Again, savings can be made. An Xbox Series S and normal Game Pass bought separately can net you a saving of $60.01 over the course of 2 years. Not bad. $60 would easily buy you a game!

But once again, our fly is having a wonderful time backstroking around in our broth.

You see, when compared to buying an Xbox Series S and Game Pass ultimate from Amazon, this saving looks a little less palatable.

Remember, the Xbox Series S and Game pass ultimate can be snagged from Amazon for a rather tasty price of $539.91.

As you may notice, that’s only 16 cents more, again. That extra 16 cents buys you an awful lot of gaming. You could get free games on Xbox Live, online gaming, and EA Play. For just 16 cents.

But again, how is this price affected by the 3-month Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar deal that comes with many Xbox Series S’? Well, it lowers the price to $509.75. which is a pretty amazing considering how many game are available on Game Pass

So, finally, we’ve come to the end of my mosh pit of math. What is the best deal for you? What should you buy. Curse numbers, they are so confusing!

Scroll down to the final section to have all this mathy-stuff unraveled in plain(ish) English.

What’s the best deal for you?

Ok, now we are at the end I want to clear up any confusion as to what you should do to get the best deal. So here goes.

If you can get 3-month Game Pass Ultimate vouchers on Amazon for around the $30 mark, buy 8 of them and then buy an Xbox Series X or S. It’s the cheapest option by far, plus it offers you more value than just buying a normal Game Pass, even though Game Pass is a few cents cheaper. And these deals are sweetened even more if you can make use of the packed-in 3-months of Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar.

Take a look here to quickly check out the price of those vouchers.

If you can’t find cheap Game Pass Ultimate vouchers on Amazon, then your best bet is to ask yourself do you really want to play online? Do you really want to play EA games? If you don’t, then your next best bet is to buy normal Game Pass vouchers on Amazon, or though Microsoft, and buy the console separately. You’ll make a substantial saving.

If you are desperate to have Game Pass Ultimate, and there are no vouchers on sale on Amazon, then your final opportunity to save a little cash is to take advantage of Xbox All Access. Yes, you’ll only save $20 if you go with the Xbox Series X. But there is substantially more money to be saved if you use All Access to buy an Xbox Series S.

Here’s a handy duet of tables for comparison:

Xbox Series X

Product Type	Cost over 24 months
Xbox Series X All Access	$839.76
Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate bought separately	$859.75
Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate bought separately minus 3-month Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar.	$814.75.
Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate with Vouchers	$739.91
Xbox Series X + Game Pass Ultimate with Vouchers minus 3-month Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar.	$710.92
Xbox Series X + Normal Game Pass	$739.75
Xbox Series X + Normal Game Pass – minus 3-month Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar.	$709.75

Xbox Series S

Product Type	Cost over 24 months
Xbox Series S All Access	$599.76
Xbox Series S + Game Pass Ultimate bought separately	$659.75
Xbox Series S + Game Pass Ultimate bought separately minus 3-month Game Pass Ultimate for 1 dollar.	$614.75
Xbox Series S + Game Pass Ultimate with Vouchers	$539.91
Xbox Series S + Game Pass Ultimate with Vouchers minus 3-month Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar.	$510.92
Xbox Series S + Normal Game Pass	$539.75
Xbox Series S + Normal Game Pass – minus 3-month Game Pass ultimate for 1 dollar.	$509.75