There’ve been price hikes across the board. With rising console costs and spikes in gaming subscriptions, keeping up with your gaming can become a little expensive. That’s why CNET’s dedicated shopping team spends hours on the internet looking for top gaming deals, like on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. The company recently tweaked the price of its Game Pass offerings. So, we compiled a list of the best offers so you can play on your PC, console or on the cloud without spending a lot of your precious dollars.

There are multiple Game Pass subscriptions to choose from, but we’ve looked through them to help you pick the right one for you and your budget. If you’ve got a decent internet connection, you can even use this subscription on your phone, thanks to Microsoft’s cloud gaming tech. Our dedicated deals writer, Max McHone, is a prolific gamer with plenty of experience helping gamers save on their favorite hobby.

With that, the CNET deals team has broken down the key differences between the membership tiers and rounded up the best Game Pass deals currently available to help you choose the right plan and get signed up for less. CNET’s Zach McAuliffe calls it “a great gaming deal” in his full review, and you can get it for even less with the best Xbox Game Pass deals we’ve posted below.

We’ll continue to update this page as bargains come and go, so be sure to check back often for the best prices available.

You can grab a three-month subscription for about $49 at Loaded, a steep drop from the usual $69 price. This is currently one of the best Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deals available.

Unlike comparable PlayStation subscriptions, there’s no official annual membership plan. Deals directly from Xbox turn up occasionally, but they’re usually just for new subscribers. However, new and existing subscribers can score some savings through third parties with a little digging.

To help you save some cash each month, we’ve rounded up some of the best (and only) ones available right now below.

If you want to go one month at a time, don’t bother with Microsoft’s official pricing. Loaded has the same Xbox Game Pass Ultimate monthly subscription available for a massive 51% off. You can access hundreds of games across console, PC and the cloud, along with Day 1 releases, discounts and an EA Play membership. Why pay more? 

Note that this deal is not stackable and can only be used when there are no other memberships active on your Xbox Live account.

A 12-month membership to Xbox Game Pass Essential provides a year of access to a rotating library of more than 50 games. It also includes online multiplayer, cloud gaming support and exclusive in-game perks for select titles.

Loaded also has a discount on the three-month Ultimate Game Pass. Because a single month on Xbox costs $23, this deal saves you $20.

You can now grab the six-month Game Pass Ultimate for just $105, saving 24% off the actual $137 price.

There are four Game Pass subscriptions available. To help you choose the one that’s right for you, we’ve broken down what’s included in each tier and the usual monthly cost below.

Game Pass Essential, which used to be Game Pass Core stays at $10 a month, or you can save a bit with a $25 three-month subscription. It covers what was previously included with a Gold subscription, providing access to online multiplayer for console gamers. This new membership also offers access to a library of over 50 titles, including popular games like Doom Eternal and Fallout 4. 

Right now, Xbox is offering a one-month subscription to the Xbox GamePass Essential for just $1, though it bounces back to the regular price of $10 on subsequent months.

If you’re a PC gamer, PC Game Pass is still budget-friendly. It’s up from $12 to $14 a month, but it still includes access to a much larger library of hundreds of PC games and access to new games on the day they go on sale. This subscription also includes an EA Play membership, which adds a whole bunch more games to your library and provides some exclusive rewards and content for select EA titles.

Game Pass Premium, formerly known as Standard, is Microsoft’s replacement for the previous Game Pass Console membership. It costs $15 per month and offers perks such as a library of over 200 games, select discounts, online multiplayer and other benefits. It doesn’t include games released on Day 1 or within the first year of launch. For a limited time, you can get it for $1 for the first 14 days.

Game Pass Ultimate is the best of all worlds. At $23 a month, an Ultimate subscription bundles the benefits of an Essential and Premium membership. You’ll get access to the entire Game Pass library on your console, PC and mobile device, including access to select titles on Day 1, and you’ll have the ability to participate in online multiplayer.

Note that this price increased from $20 to $30 in October last year and then down to $23 in April 2026.

You’ll also get perks like exclusive offers and in-game content, and it includes the EA Play subscription that you get with the PC membership. Despite the price hike, it’s still the best option out there for all-around gamers who don’t want to compromise on variety.

Savings on Xbox gaming subscriptions can be pretty tough to come by. To help you get signed up for less, we scout the best deals from Microsoft directly, as well as from trusted third-party retailers like Loaded (formerly CDKeys). We evaluate the membership tier, subscription length and discount to help you get the best monthly price on the plan that works best for you.

Though a Game Pass Ultimate subscription is the most expensive option at $20 a month, our reviewer called it the “best content deal in gaming.” Having access to online multiplayer and a huge library of older titles is a great benefit, but the real value is being able to play new games as soon as they’re released. Considering many of these titles retail for $60 to $70, it’s easy to get your money’s worth.

Microsoft occasionally offers deals for new members, so you should check the Game Pass home page if you’re a first-time subscriber. If there aren’t any deals available there, or you already have a Game Pass subscription, then Loaded is your best option. It’s one of the few third-party retailers we trust for subscription deals, and it consistently offers discounted Xbox memberships. While they’re not nearly as frequent, Woot and StackSocial occasionally offer deals as well.

A Game Pass subscription is not a requirement for Xbox gamers, and there are hundreds of titles you can play without one. However, you’ll need a membership if you want to participate in online multiplayer. Access to online play is included in all tiers, starting at $10 per month for a Core membership.

The short answer is yes: Microsoft allows you to stack multiple Game Pass subscriptions. Essentially, you can purchase and add multiple discounted subscriptions to your account and get months (or years) of access for less. Just note that Microsoft caps prepaid subscriptions at 36 months in total; any additional months you try to add to your account will not be credited.