Pricing for Xbox Live Gold is as follows: $10 a month, $25 for 3 months and $60 for a full year. Granted, many of these titles are also found in the Xbox Game Pass library.

Even if your Xbox Live Gold membership lapses, you get to keep your Games with Gold titles. For example, 49 titles were given away in 2021, including games such as Little Nightmares, Injustice: Gods Among Us and Darksiders 3. This feature not only gives access to online gaming, but affords players a handful of free games to keep. It should also be noted, to play games online, console Game Pass subscribers will also need a separate subscription to Xbox Live Gold. However, if you purchase a game à la carte, your save files will carry over, so there’s no risk of lost progress. Similarly, once your subscription runs out, you’ll lose access to the Game Pass library. (Except for games from Microsoft studios those are there for keeps.) As with any subscription service, games come and go from Xbox Game Pass frequently, so if you see a game you like, you’ll want to play it sooner rather than later. These games don’t generally come with DLC, but you’ll get a 10% discount on any add-ons. If you choose to buy one of the Game Pass titles à la carte, you’ll get a 20% discount.

Best games on xbox ultimate game pass