Microsoft could integrate Xbox Live and Game Pass in one big subscription

To get started with the Xbox One S without disk

Microsoft has two different game subscriptions that serve unique purposes. Xbox Live Gold is the one that activates the multiplayer feature, the cloud backups and four free games each month. Xbox Game Pass is essentially a digital rental service in which users pay a monthly fee to access more than 100 games. Both are useful, but people interested in one may not care about each other.

However, Microsoft could soon combine the two into a mega subscription. According to a report from The Verge, Microsoft plans to pair the two in a $ 15 monthly subscription called Xbox Game Ultimate Pass. That's $ 180 a year.

However, most people subscribing to both will not necessarily notice savings. An annual subscription to Xbox Live Gold costs $ 60 and the 120-month Game Pass costs $ 120, or $ 180 per year. That's exactly the price of a full year of Xbox Game Ultimate Pass. However, it should be noted that people who pay higher prices for shorter Xbox Live Gold subscriptions receive some kind of discount under this new plan.

The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would be expected to be unveiled alongside the announcement of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which is Microsoft's supposedly diskless Xbox model. Seeing how Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass are the two most popular digital services offered by Xbox, it would be logical for Microsoft to position these services as the perfect complement to the new console. In addition, Microsoft will likely retain the option of purchasing packages separately, with bundling acting more as a convenience than anything else. We'll know more in the coming weeks when the fully digital version of the Xbox One S is finally unveiled.

Microsoft associates Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live subscriptions to a $ 14.99 monthly subscription [The Verge]

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