Game Inbox: Is Xbox Game Pass Still Worth It?

Changing levels
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Microsoft insist, just a few months ago, that there wouldn’t be a new, more expensive tier for Game Pass? I looked it up and this is exactly what they said, in response to the rumours: ‘After launch, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be playable on Xbox and PC for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass members console.’

This is simply not true. Xbox Game Pass for console won’t even exist by the time Black Ops 6 comes out and what they’re replacing it with won’t include Black Ops 6. Either they’re knowingly lying or they’re changing plans so quickly that they made a U of full-payback in just two months.

I really regret getting an Xbox Series X/S instead of a PlayStation 5 and won’t make that mistake again, especially since I expect most games to be multiformat in a year or two anyway. Game Pass clearly hasn’t worked and is getting more expensive and more restrictive. Microsoft says most people have Ultimate, but why should I trust them on that, given their track record?

I didn’t have it and I’m certainly not paying for it now that the cheapest tier is so faded. As far as I’m concerned, Game Pass just isn’t worth the money and I’ve had enough.
Benson

Place your bets
I don’t think my memory is playing me wrong, but didn’t Microsoft say they wouldn’t change the Game Pass tiers because of Call Of Duty? I guess someone did the math and realized it wasn’t a good idea. For a company that can spend $72 billion like it’s pocket change, they don’t seem to have much of a plan.

How many billions of business leaders could they have hired for that amount of money to offer some better advice than Phil Spencer and his friends? Or just ask ChatGPT. It’s really about time we start replacing our drivers with AI, instead of creative humans who actually contribute something valuable to games.

I couldn’t care less about Call Of Duty so this doesn’t really affect me but it just seems to continue the slow downward spiral for Microsoft as they first deny something is going to happen and then announce it in the next breath. How long will it be before someone announces more multi-format games? A month or two?
Surtur

Dead zone
We’re kind of in the dead end of the year for new games right now, as usual during the summer, but I find myself looking forward to Star Wars Outlaws. I know it shouldn’t and it’ll probably just be shallow and unoriginal, but I love the universe and if nothing else the graphics look really good.

I think games have reached such a level now, in terms of graphics and kind of basic gameplay quality – that in general it will never be that worse – that you can have a lot of fun even with an unoriginal or repetitive game. Now there is a pleasure in experiencing the world itself and not necessarily what you do in it.

For me, that’s definitely the appeal of something like Assassin’s Creed, where the story isn’t even that important, it’s just the convenience of knowing you can do anything and go anywhere while enjoying the visuals. I think that’s why Elden Ring did so well, because it’s similar, except it’s very difficult. So it’s kind of the other side of the same thing.

I wouldn’t want it that way all the time, but I can enjoy both approaches: super challenging hardcore gameplay and super non-challenging casual.
Davis

Router Advisor
I have Elden Ring installed on my computer, but it keeps kicking me out of the game due to frequent connection loss. How can an internet-only streaming device work as intended? It might be the router that Plusnet provides, but I couldn’t dream of streaming any games.

Half the time my Xbox Series X can’t even connect to the network. My PS Vita/Wii U had to be brought down to get the smallest connection.

Can any readers recommend a better 3rd party router, hopefully under £100?
Bobwallet
Currently, the beds are being punched because of Mesmer of the hour.

Character action
I know there’s a lot of talk about a God Of War semi-sequel coming soon, like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but wouldn’t it be great to bring it back to the old style of gaming? I miss them and while I love the new games they are so different it basically means we will never see them again.

I think it would be nice to tie the last two games into whatever new setting, with an old school adventure, it doesn’t even have to star Kratos. The old God Of War games were basically the only western style Devil May Cry style game out there and I think it’s a shame it’s gone.
Zippo

Free advice
For the reader asking about free games, I would recommend The Finals. Great game, the kids and I have spent hours on it and not spent a dime. Or even a penny.

Great, tight matches, brilliant destruction physics and just plain fun. Highly recommended.

The Squad Busters GC review recently had me downloading for a quick spin and… I can’t stop playing. Great gameplay loop and very fun mechanics. Maybe not for everyone, but I appreciate it for what it is. And polished to high heaven. Whatever that means.

Lastly, my favorite game right now is Population One on Meta Quest. Just fantastic atmosphere. Again, the kids and I spent hours and nothing, just game after game laughing our heads off and working as a team. It doesn’t get enough recognition, I think it’s great.

Have you seen it, GC? It used to be a paid product, but they moved it to free a while ago. Great community, map making if that’s your bag, and just constant fun.
Pugmartin

GC: We didn’t realize it was free now, we only played it for a short time at first.

The aftermath of football
So Microsoft has seen fit to enhance Game Pass. Personally, I have no objection to this. I’d happily pay a bit more to keep getting day one releases. But from what I’ve seen and read I can’t figure out if I get Ultimate, will I still be able to access the PC library? Or will I have to play for that too?

I am an avid Football Manager player and will be retiring from not being able to play.
mark

GC: Ultimate still includes console and PC, as far as we understand.

Terrible discovery
Well, the reveal of the Nintendo horror game was certainly unexpected! What is it? Who is doing it? Why are we only hearing about it now? I have no idea, of course, but this is a welcome surprise. As GC points out, Nintendo isn’t as adverse to horror games as you might think. Geist was also kind of creepy and they were very keen on Resident Evil during the GameCube era. So while this has come out of nowhere, it’s not unprecedented.

I just hope it’s nothing to do with Bloober Team. I have no idea why they’ve become the go-to developer for horror, but I’ve never liked any of their stuff, it’s just silly scares and bad stories. The teaser for Eimo is vague enough that it’s not clear if he’s been Japaneseized or not, but I think the fact that his original name appears to be Japanese suggests that it probably is.

Will it come out this year? Who knows, but I’d love it if it came out around Halloween and was another surprise hit to make the Switch’s last year even better.
Woogie

Inbox-ka too
I don’t even play Apex Legends and I am outraged at what EA has done. It almost seems like a tax write-off or something, where they’re trying to get it out as quickly as possible on purpose. If that’s the goal, then they seem to be doing well.
Takla

Is it Sony or Edge trolling the Bloodborne faithful?
Wonk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special hot topic inboxes on the weekend. Reader letters are credited and may be edited for length and content.

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