Eight reasons your computer is incomplete without PC Game Pass
If you have a gaming desktop or laptop, PC Game Pass is a no-brainer
A gaming PC is nothing without a roster of top-notch titles to play on it, and while you may have an impressive collection on Steam, Origin or GOG, your experience is simply incomplete without PC Game Pass.
Originally a treat for Xbox gamers, Game Pass is like an all-you-can-eat buffet of games. For what works out as less than £8 per month, PC Game Pass provides access to a rolling selection of more than 100 top-drawer games ready to download and play at any hour of the day or night. It’s a gateway not only to stone-cold classics such as Skyrim, Doom Eternal and the Halo series, but indie gems like Death’s Door, Hades and Tunic. There really is something for everyone.
not convinced? Here are eight reasons why your gaming PC is simply crying out for a PC Game Pass subscription.
You’ll never be short of something to play
PC Game Pass is like Netflix for games: an ever-changing banquet of top-quality gaming PC experiences across every genre imaginable.
Bored of crowd-controlling zombie hordes in Back 4 Blood? You can instantly switch to the virtual dugout in Football Manager 2022, the bridge of a pirate ship in Sea of Thieves or the cockpit of an Airbus A320neo in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Get the biggest releases on day one
Microsoft is all in on Game Pass and has pledged to put all of its first-party games (and some third-party ones) on the subscription service on the day of release.
Remember that Microsoft now owns a host of game studios: Bethesda, Rare, Double Fine Productions, id Software and, soon, Activision. That means that the next Forza, Gears, Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Wolfenstein games will be on PC Game Pass as soon as they’re released, without you having to spend an extra penny (and yes, that includes the upcoming Bethesda space RPG Starfield).
It offers incredible value
On the subject of pennies, PC gaming has always offered enormous value over other entertainment mediums. Yes, a new release might set you back £50, but it’ll give you at least eight hours of worth of entertainment, and in the case of something like Fallout 4, more like 80. The films on Netflix, Disney+ and Sky can’t hope to offer that kind of longevity.
And that’s when you’re actually paying for games: when they’re included in your subscription, it’s even better. Looking at a few of the most popular titles out today, buying ARK Ultimate Survivor Edition, Back 4 Blood and Forza Horizon 5 on Steam would cost you £146 at the time of writing. Get PC Game Pass and you’ll get instant access to all three (not to mention more than 100 other titles) for £8. It’s a no-brainer.
There’s so much variety
And that’s just scratching the surface of the content. Beyond the heavy-hitting franchises such as Minecraft, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Halo, Forza, Gears, Doom and Wolfenstein, you’ll be surprised at how many hidden indie gems you can find.
While games such as Unpacking, Tunic, My Friend Pedro, Hades, The Forgotten City, Supraland, Death’s Door and Spiritfarer may not have the same name recognition as the ones above, each one scores over 80% on Metacritic.
And that’s not even mentioning EA games
One of the best things about PC Game Pass is that it bundles in EA Play for the cost of the subscription.
That would cost £3.99 a month on its own and expands the PC Game Pass experience further with franchises including Battlefield, Dead Space, Burnout, Crysis, Dragon Age, FIFA, Madden, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, Plants vs Zombies, Medal of Honor, Mirror’s Edge, Star Wars: Battlefront, SimCity, The Sims and Titanfall.
Try games without the risk of buyer’s remorse
The best thing about all of this is that there’s simply nothing to lose by going beyond your comfort zone. Curious about the near-universal praise lavished on Microsoft Flight Simulator, but unsure if cruising at 38,000 feet is for you? Try it on Game Pass and save yourself £60. If you’re not a fan, the only downside has been having to wait for a download to complete.
And the potential rewards are huge. You could find your new favourite game franchise buried in the library. Indeed, Spelunky 2 – the sequel to my favourite game of all time – is available to download right now if you subscribe…
Boost your Xbox Gamerscore from the comfort of your desk
Whether you’re a lapsed Xbox gamer from the 360 days or an Xbox Series X superfan, you’ll be pleased to know that PC Game Pass plugs into the same framework. That means you get the same satisfying “blunk” for in-game achievements, and you can boost your Gamerscore from anything you play on PC Game Pass.
If you do have an Xbox downstairs, you may want to spend a bit more on Game Pass Ultimate, which combines the PC experience with hundreds of Xbox games and Xbox Live Gold for online play on console. It’ll cost you just over a tenner a month.
Love a game? Buy it at a discount
You only have access to the game for as long as it stays on Game Pass and – sadly – some third-party games do eventually have to leave to make way for new ones.
But the good news is first that Microsoft games don’t show any signs of leaving, and if you do fall in love with a game and want to make it a permanent addition to your hard disk, Game Pass subscribers automatically get a discount.
Keen to get started? Buy three months of PC Game Pass from Argos for £23.99 and get your subscription started via email delivery within two hours.