While the attention often focuses on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — which is fair, because it’s incredible value — there is another, more basic product. Xbox Game Pass Core costs a lot less, but has a smaller library, but importantly, still lets you play online multiplayer as Live Gold used to do.
If the cheaper product is more what you’re looking for, I have a last minute anti-Prime Day deal for you! At Newegg right now, you can save $16 on a 12-month subscription. Stack three of these, and you get a full three years of access and a total saving of $48.
Despite being a smaller library, the Game Pass Core offering isn’t bad at all considering how much cheaper it is. Microsoft says “more than 25,” but unless I’m really poor at counting, I see 51 games currently listed.
These include Gears 5, State of Decay 2, Grounded, Control Ultimate Edition, Halo 5, and many more. Check out the full list on the Xbox Game Pass Core website.
This is the tier of Xbox Game Pass that effectively replaced the old Xbox Live Gold subscription, which primarily we used to give us access to online multiplayer beyond the couple of free games every month.
That same perk is built into Game Pass Core, but it should be pointed out you may not need it. If you only use online free-to-play titles, such as Fortnite, or Call of Duty: Warzone, you don’t need Game Pass Core for multiplayer. Free-to-play is free online multiplayer for everyone.
We can argue all we like whether it’s a thing that should still exist, but it does, and at the very least on an Xbox console you need Game Pass Core to do it.
This is also a console only product, so if you’re on PC, again, you don’t need this. You won’t get access to any of the library.
The deals are starting to enter the endgame now, though. This really is a last minute, last gasp chance to save on Xbox Game Pass Core. At the end of the day, it will be gone, so do not delay, save today (and tomorrow, and next year, you get the picture!)
