As someone who has primarily played games on an Xbox console since the original model was released in the early 2000s, I have been a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass since its launch. While there have certainly been low points for the service, it has provided me with a steady stream of not only great older games but also brand-new releases. While the verdict is still out on whether it’s a good deal for developers, it certainly has been for me, and it has changed some of my gaming habits in ways you might not expect, far more than the tantalizing Steam sales, which I rarely partake in, partially because of Xbox Game Pass.
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I play plenty of big releases on day one
A heavy chunk of my top ten list for the year includes day-one Game Pass releases
To give you an idea of just how good the selection of launch day Xbox Game Pass releases has been, my current top ten list for 2025, which always fluctuates until the year is over, includes four games released on day one on Game Pass. Those games are Avowed, Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Monster Train 2. Assuming I had bought those games at full price instead, that’s $215 worth of video games, which is a hefty chunk of change to spend on video games. Of those four games, three of them were discounted during the Steam Summer sale, but not by a significant amount. I would still be spending close to that original amount, and I would be waiting a few months to play these games. Instead, I got to be part of the conversation about these games at the time of launch.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I’m more willing to buy games not on Game Pass
Not buying games, lets me buy games, if that makes sense
Promise Mascot Agency is a hilarious and bizarre business management sim and is currently my third favorite game of the year so far. It was a game that was not on my radar until it came out, but it looked interesting enough that I bought it and gave it a shot. I have found that as more and more games I want to play come to Xbox Game Pass on day one, I’m more willing to take a chance on something. In my mind, I saved money on the other games, so why not spend some of those savings on another game? It’s a similar feeling to when a big Steam sale happens, and you see a game on a 90% discount and go “I would lose money if I didn’t”. That’s not really how that works financially, but it is how some people’s brains, including mine, work. And if it didn’t work that way, I might not have played Promise Mascot Agency, a game I love dearly.
Promise Mascot Agency
Sales often include stuff I have on Game Pass
Even if it left the service, I don’t always want to buy games I’ve already played
During the current Steam Summer Sale, Metaphor: ReFantazio, one of the best RPGs from last year, is 40%, the steepest discount I’ve seen on it since its release. While this isn’t a perfect example, since I played it at launch last year when it wasn’t on Game Pass, if I hadn’t, this Steam sale wouldn’t be tempting. The reason is that the game came to Game Pass just a few months ago. Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal are less than $10, but they are also on Game Pass. Persona 3: Reload is 55%, but that launched on Game Pass.
There are obviously plenty of games on sale that didn’t launch on Game Pass or haven’t been on the service at all, but many of those I have played already, leaving me interested in most of the games on sale, outside of a few things I can’t get anywhere else, like the RollerCoaster Tycoon collection. The older catalog on Game Pass includes a ton of games, covering some of the best deals in the Steam sale and providing me with plenty of games I could be playing instead of buying new ones.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Released
- October 11, 2024
My relationship with games is abnormal
Covering them professionally also throws a wrench in my spending habits
It’s important to point out and discuss that my relationship with games is different from most people, covering them professionally. I don’t mean this is some way that makes my gaming more important or unique; it’s just that there are two important aspects that influence my purchasing habits. The first is that I do occasionally get codes for games, meaning I don’t have to pay for them, which obviously frees me up to spend money on other games if I want to. I still buy games, sometimes because I don’t get a code and sometimes because I might not be covering a game, but I am interested in playing it.
Even if I buy a game I want to play without coverage plans, I still want to play the game near release, in case I do want to write about it, leading me to buy full-price games instead of waiting for a sale. The second point is the volume of games played. There are likely people who play games that play far more hours, but I play a large range of games, including games I’m not interested in because that’s how the job works. This also means that Steam sales are less enticing because often it’s either a game I’ve already played or a game old enough that I can’t cover it, so it becomes difficult to make time for it. Monster Hunter Wilds is an example of a game that didn’t launch on Game Pass, but I had the privilege of getting a code instead of buying it.
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Released
- February 28, 2025
I’ve been subscribed to Xbox Game Pass longer than I’ve been doing this professionally
That’s how I know Game Pass is affecting my habits and not the job
The reason I know that Xbox Game Pass is impacting my purchasing habits and disinterest in Steam sales, and not the job, is that Game Pass has been around longer than I’ve been doing this professionally. Xbox Game Pass launched in 2017, but I didn’t start doing it professionally until 2020, and not full-time until 2021. I also didn’t start getting codes regularly until the last couple of years, so I have been using Xbox Game Pass to save money on games for a long time. While working in this role, my job has certainly changed the way I buy — or don’t buy — games. However, not all of those spending habits stem from this; some already existed because of Game Pass.
