PC Game Pass: Price, Best Games and How to Pay With a Gift Card

Summary: PC Game Pass is Microsoft's Windows-only games subscription: $13.99 a month in the US for a library of hundreds of PC games, Microsoft's new releases on day one and EA Play. It does not include console play or cloud streaming, which is the main difference from Ultimate. You can pay monthly by card or with an Xbox gift card, and there is no official yearly plan in the US.

• PC Game Pass costs $13.99 a month in the US after Microsoft's April price cut.
• It covers Windows games only, with day-one Microsoft releases and EA Play included.
• Ultimate adds console and cloud play; Essential and Premium now include a smaller PC library too.
• An Xbox gift card can pay for it, and prepaid codes stack if you want a longer stretch.

What is PC Game Pass? It is the PC-only plan within Xbox Game Pass: you install the Xbox app on Windows, pay a monthly fee and download games from the library as long as you subscribe. People search for it under many names, from "microsoft game pass pc" and "xbox pc game pass" to "game pass for pc", but they all mean the same plan. If you only play on a Windows PC, PC Game Pass is usually the best value of the Xbox Game Pass options.

What Is PC Game Pass?

PC Game Pass is a subscription that unlocks a rotating library of Windows games through the Xbox app. Microsoft's own studios release their games on it the day they launch, and EA Play is bundled in, adding EA's back catalogue and trials of new EA games. The games run locally on your PC, so performance depends on your hardware rather than an internet stream.

You will also see it called xbox pc games pass, xbox games pass pc, pc games pass or even "xbox game pass pc game pass" in shop listings and forums. Microsoft has renamed its tiers more than once, which is why the naming is so scattered, but the PC-only plan has kept the PC Game Pass name throughout.

PC Game Pass Price and Xbox Game Pass Options

These are the current US monthly prices for the Xbox Game Pass options, after Microsoft's April update cut PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99 and Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99:

Prices differ by country, and Microsoft has changed them twice in a year, so check the Xbox store for your region before you subscribe. Our overview of every Microsoft Game Pass tier covers the console plans in more depth.

PC Game Pass vs Ultimate: Which One for PC Players?

PC Gamepass Ultimate is a common search, and the answer is simple: Ultimate includes everything in PC Game Pass and adds console play, online console multiplayer, Ubisoft+ Classics, Fortnite Crew and cloud streaming. If you only play on a Windows PC, those extras go unused and PC Game Pass saves you $9 a month.

• Pick PC Game Pass if all your gaming happens on one Windows PC.
• Pick Ultimate if you also own an Xbox, want to stream to a phone or TV, or want the Ubisoft+ Classics library.
• Either way, the PC library and day-one releases are the same, so pc gamepass ultimate buyers on PC alone are paying for features they won't touch.

Xbox Game Pass Standard Games and the Premium Tier on PC

The old Standard plan was renamed Premium, and since the reshuffle it includes PC play for its library. So people looking up xbox game pass standard games are really asking what Premium includes: a mid-size back catalogue on console, PC and cloud, without day-one releases and without EA Play. For a PC-only player, PC Game Pass costs a dollar less and gets new Microsoft games on release day, so the xbox game pass standard games list is rarely the better deal on Windows.

Best Games on PC Game Pass

Among xbox pc gamepass games, third-party titles rotate in and out, but Microsoft's own stay in the library permanently. These are some of the best games on PC Game Pass that won't disappear:

• Forza Horizon 5: the open-world racer that suits almost any PC.
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: a cinematic adventure from MachineGames.
• Doom: The Dark Ages: fast, heavy shooting that rewards a strong GPU.
• Starfield: Bethesda's huge space RPG.
• The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed: Obsidian's latest RPGs.
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: the flagship simulator, best with a fast connection.
• Sea of Thieves and Age of Empires IV for multiplayer and strategy fans.

Xbox PC gamepass games also include a large third-party catalogue that changes monthly; the Xbox app flags titles leaving soon. If a favourite is about to go, subscribers get a discount to keep it, or you can pick it up from a PC key store such as Fanatical during a sale.

FIFA on Game Pass: EA Sports FC Through EA Play

Searches for "fifa gamepass" come from the EA Play part of the subscription. EA renamed FIFA to EA Sports FC, and EA Play on PC Game Pass usually gives a time-limited trial of the newest FC game at launch, with older FC titles joining the EA Play library later. So fifa gamepass access means last year's FC in full and the current one as a trial, not the full new release on day one.

How to Get PC Game Pass and Start Playing

• Check your PC runs Windows 10 or 11 and meets each game's own requirements.
• Install the Xbox app from the Microsoft Store and sign in with your Microsoft account.
• Subscribe in the app or redeem a prepaid code or gift card balance.
• Pick a game, choose an install drive, and download.

Your hardware matters more than the subscription for newer games. If you are upgrading for a pc gaming pass library, a mid-range GPU and an SSD make the biggest difference, and retailers such as Best Buy carry prebuilt gaming PCs and upgrade parts.

Paying for PC Game Pass With an Xbox Gift Card

You don't need a credit card on your Microsoft account. An Xbox gift card adds balance that pays the subscription month by month, which also keeps a renewal from landing on a card you had forgotten. It is a tidy way to give a gaming pass PC players can use on their own terms, because the recipient keeps control of their own account.

You can buy an Xbox gift card with crypto, redeem it at redeem.microsoft.com or in the Xbox app, and let the balance cover the subscription.

PC Game Pass for a Year

There is no official 12-month PC Game Pass plan in the US, so a pc game pass year is simply twelve monthly payments: $167.88 at $13.99 a month before tax. Searches for "gamepass year" usually come from people trying to lock in a price. The way to do that is to buy prepaid codes for the plan and redeem them in one go, since Microsoft lets prepaid time stack on an account up to a cap, then switch off recurring billing so the card isn't charged when the time runs out.

A prepaid pc game pass year also protects you from the next price change for as long as the stacked time lasts. Watch two things when stacking a gamepass year: codes must match your account's region, and some cheap one-month codes are for new members only and won't stack onto an active plan.

Is There a Free PC Game Pass?

Not permanently. Free PC Game Pass offers come in three legitimate forms: occasional $1 or free trial months for new or lapsed members, codes bundled with new PCs, GPUs or peripherals, and Microsoft Rewards points that can be traded for Game Pass time. Anything else promising free PC Game Pass codes, especially generators or surveys, is a scam aimed at your Microsoft account.

If you prefer owning games outright rather than renting a library, DRM-free stores such as GOG.com are the opposite approach and pair well with a few months of Game Pass for the big releases.

PC Game Pass FAQ

What is PC Game Pass in one sentence?

What is PC Game Pass? A $13.99 monthly Windows subscription with hundreds of games, day-one Microsoft releases and EA Play.

Is Xbox Game Pass for PC games the same as Ultimate?

No. Xbox Game Pass for PC games is the PC Game Pass plan; Ultimate covers the same PC library plus console and cloud.

Can I play PC Game Pass games on Steam?

No. Games pass PC titles install through the Xbox app, though some link to a Steam or EA app account for multiplayer.

Does PC Game Pass include cloud gaming?

No. Cloud streaming needs Essential, Premium or Ultimate.

Can I pay for game pass for PC with a gift card?

Yes. Redeem an Xbox gift card to your Microsoft account and the balance pays the subscription, which makes it an easy gaming pass PC owners can receive as a gift.

Is Microsoft Game Pass PC the same as Xbox PC Game Pass?

Yes. Microsoft game pass pc, xbox pc game pass, xbox pc games pass and xbox games pass pc all describe the same Windows-only plan.

Does the xbox game pass pc game pass plan include Call of Duty?

Existing Call of Duty games in the library are included, but new releases now join PC Game Pass and Ultimate around a year after launch rather than on day one.

Choose PC Game Pass If Windows Is Where You Play

For anyone who games only on Windows, PC Game Pass is the pc gaming pass that makes sense: the full PC library, Microsoft's releases on day one and EA Play for $13.99 a month. Step up to Ultimate only if you also play on console or stream. To pay without a card on file, browse Xbox gift cards and top up your Microsoft account with crypto.