Game Pass in 2026: what each subscription actually includes

First things first: what is Game Pass? It’s Microsoft’s subscription that lets you play online on Xbox consoles and, on top of that, gives subscribers a rotating library of games for Xbox and/or PC (depending on the plan). You might care for two reasons: (1) you want online multiplayer in a paid game (Call of Duty, EA Sports FC… though free-to-play titles like Fortnite or Rocket League don’t need a subscription), or (2) you want to play new games without buying them at full price.

• The upside: you can play a ton.
• The downside: it’s a recurring cost, though depending how many games you burn through, you might still come out ahead.

So here’s the rundown of the four plans: Essential, Premium, PC, and Ultimate. Don’t worry, it’s straightforward.

The plans

There are currently four subscriptions:

1. Xbox Game Pass Essential — the entry door (formerly “Core”).
2. Xbox Game Pass Premium — a big library, without Xbox day-one releases.
3. PC Game Pass — PC only, with Xbox day-one releases.
4. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — the full pack (console + PC + cloud + extras).

We’ll get into what each pack actually includes. Xbox has an official comparer; it’s not the friendliest UI in my book, but here it is: compare plans.

Here’s a useful summary with the meat of it: what each plan costs in Spain (indicative) and what you get back. Prices vary by country.

Quick table

¹ Not on day one, but they usually arrive the following year.

One more detail before I forget. Not every new game lands on day one with Ultimate / PC only, only selected titles; for example, new Call of Duty games don’t arrive on day one: you’ll have to wait or buy them separately.

You’ll probably want to know which games sit in each plan. There are too many to list here, but here’s a trick: open the official store catalog and scroll to the filters at the bottom. You can filter by subscription and check whether the games you care about are in or not.

And if you’re not up to speed: Cloud Gaming is available on selected plans and runs the game on a remote server instead of on your device. Pros and cons, for example:

• Pros: (1) no install; you can launch almost instantly. (2) if you have an Xbox One, an Xbox Series S, or a modest PC, you can get a smoother experience (smoother still on Ultimate, where Cloud Gaming is better).
• Cons: (1) you need an internet connection. (2) that connection needs to be fast enough, or at least fast enough if you don’t want it to feel like a 360p YouTube stream.

Now the plan-by-plan breakdown, because there’s a bit more to say.

Detail summary

Xbox Game Pass Essential (€8.99)

• Online multiplayer on Xbox.
• About 50 games (console + PC).
• Cloud Gaming.
• Extra Rewards points.

Fine if you mainly want online play and the odd included game on console or PC.

Xbox Game Pass Premium (€12.99)

• Online multiplayer on Xbox.
• About 200 games (console + PC).
• Cloud Gaming.
• New games not on day one, but usually within the following year.
• Double the extra Rewards points.

The main win is the bigger library; whether that’s worth it depends on your taste. You might also decide it’s worth stretching to Ultimate for the full catalog.

PC Game Pass (€12.99)

• About 300 games (PC only).
• New games on day one.
• Extra Rewards points.
• EA Play.
• In-game extras in titles like League of Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone.

If you only play on PC, this is usually the best pack for the price. It also includes EA Play, EA’s own subscription. Here’s the official EA Play page with its catalog.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

• Online multiplayer on Xbox.
• About 500 games (console + PC).
• New games on launch day.
• Cloud Gaming (better quality and priority, per Microsoft).
• Quadruple the extra Rewards points.
• EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, and Fortnite Crew.
• In-game extras in titles like League of Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone.

Here’s Ubisoft’s official Ubisoft+ Classics page so you can browse what’s in that catalog.

It’s an expensive monthly fee, honestly, but you get a huge library on both Xbox and PC. Worth it if you’re going to put in a solid stretch of gaming time.

Recent price swings

In April 2026 Microsoft cut the price of Ultimate and PC Game Pass after an unexpected hike that hammered subscriptions (they had to walk it back; here’s the Xbox Wire post). I’ve also seen a few write-ups (which I can’t find again, annoyingly) where users reported personalized offers that supposedly showed up when they tried to cancel, bringing Ultimate down to around €14 if you commit for a year. I’d treat that as an unconfirmed rumor; the official prices are the ones above.

So, which one should you get?

• Mostly console online and not much else: Essential.
• Big library, no rush on new releases: Premium.
• PC only, and EA Play + day-one is enough: PC Game Pass.
• I want everything: Ultimate.

One last thing: if there’s a Nintendo Switch in the house too, we’ve got a guide for that console’s subscriptions here: Nintendo Switch Online.