Xbox Game Pass holiday discount may be this year’s best deal in gaming

These are just a handful of the games available with
Xbox Game Pass.
Microsoft

• Microsoft is offering a major holiday sale on the Xbox
  Game Pass, the Netflix-style subscription service that lets
  users play more than 100 games on Xbox One and PC.
• While Xbox Game Pass is usually $9.99 a month, or about
  $120 per year, Microsoft will start selling 12-month
  subscription codes for $69.99 on Thanksgiving Day — a discount
  of more than 40 percent.
• The codes will be carried by at least Best Buy and the
  Microsoft Store, but it’s unclear if other retailers will
  participate, as well.
• Microsoft is constantly adding more titles to Xbox Game
  Pass library, including exclusives like “Forza Horizon 4,”
  “State of Decay 2,” and the forthcoming “Crackdown 3,” giving
  subscribers access to new games for no extra cost.

While lots of shoppers are looking to make major purchases during
the sales of the holiday season, one of the best video game deals
of the year will cost about as much as a single game.

Starting on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, Microsoft will offer
a one-year subscription to Xbox Game Pass for $69.99 a year — a
discount of more than 40 percent from the $120 you’d pay for a
year, billed at the normal monthly rate of $10. 

You’ll be able to snap up the codes at Best Buy and the physical
and online Microsoft Store, though it’s unclear if other
retailers will also participate. We first spotted a listing for
this deal on Best Buy, though it was unavailable for shipping
until Thursday. Microsoft confirmed to Business Insider that this
deal is coming.

If you’re buying the code in stores, this is what
you’re going to be looking for.
Microsoft

Xbox Game Pass is a
Netflix-style service that lets subscribers download and play
more than 100 different video games on their Xbox or PC. The
service is normally $9.99 a month, with a full year costing just
under $120.

Now for about the same price of a new game, Xbox owners can
invest in a massive library of games to play for the next year.
The deal is also a great way for those who pick up their first
Xbox during the holiday season to catch up on classic titles
without spending a ton on extra games. The Game Pass library
includes backwards compatible Xbox 360, games as well as newer
Xbox One titles.

First-party Xbox Games have
Microsoft

Game Pass subscribers have no limitations on how many games they
can download, and are eligible for discounts if they decide to
purchase downloadable content for Game Pass titles. This year
Microsoft began launching some of its own first party titles on
Game Pass too, giving subscribers a cheap way to get access to
brand new titles like “Forza Horizon 4,” “Sea of Thieves,” and
“State of Decay 2.” Microsoft has confirmed that the long-awaited “Crackdown 3”
will launch on Xbox Game Pass the same day as its general release
on February 15th, 2019.

Read more:
Xbox announced a bunch of new
stuff over the weekend — here are the 8 things to get excited
about

With Microsoft rolling out more new games via Game Pass, and
adding hits like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” to the library
shortly, the value of the Xbox Game Pass will only grow from
here.

Beyond this deal, Microsoft is also letting new Game Pass
subscribers pay just $1 for their first month until the end of
the year — meaning it may be best to pay the $1 and wait until
December to snap up one of these cards and pre-pay a whole
year.