Xbox Game Pass $1 offer gets major downgrade but there's still value

Xbox Game Pass has been hit with quite a disappointing downgrade for those looking to either try the service for the first time, or just save a bit of money.

Since Asha Sharma came onboard there have been several meaningful changes to Xbox Game Pass, with the most important being a price reduction.

This reduction was done at the expense of day-one Call of Duty game additions, which was apparently what drove the price up in the first place.

However a recent change has affected the subscription service’s famous $1 deal, which would net you a month of access for pocket change, but no longer.

Brought to our attention by The_Holy_Bidoof on Reddit (great username by the way), a $1 Xbox Game Pass Essential deal will now only grant you 14 days, or two weeks, rather than the previous month.

This now puts it on par with Xbox Game Pass Premium, which you can also sample for $1 for 14 days.

With Essential you get basic online multiplayer access, over 50 games and cloud-gaming, whereas Premium gives you over 200 games including some relatively new releases.

For $1, and now both offering the same amount of time per subscription, it’s a no-brainer to go with Premium.

Those that do take advantage of this deal though should be wary of recurring billing. It’s automatically turned on so if you’re not willing to stay subscribed you should turn it off sooner rather than later.

Yes, it’s a downgrade to only have 14 days as opposed to a month, but that’s not to say there’s no value in this deal.

Since it’s aimed at those who have never had a subscription to Xbox Game Pass before, it’s a great way of sampling what services it has to offer for a low, low price, especially if you only have an Xbox.

In the past some users have managed to acquire this deal more than once, but Xbox cracked down on that a while ago.

What we know about the new Xbox Series X

With Gamescom quickly approaching gamers are expecting some tasty news drops from Xbox during the big event.

Plenty of new games are on the horizon of course, but something we’re very excited for is a brand-new Xbox Series X that’s taking us back to the good old days of translucent video game consoles.

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The Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition is a translucent console made to celebrate 25 years of Xbox, and was unveiled during the Summer Game Fest festivities earlier this year. Some lucky attendees even got to take a free one home with them.

Pretty soon though it’ll be available to buy as a collector’s item, and while Xbox hasn’t officially confirmed when it’ll launch and for what price, those details have leaked online. Don’t worry if you missed them, those Grand Theft Auto VI leaks have been dominating social media as of late.

The Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition will apparently go on sale on November 27, to tie-in with 2026’s Black Friday.

It’s said to cost $899.99, which is a lot of money even for dedicated collectors. It’ll come with an equally translucent controller.

Again, Xbox hasn’t confirmed those details, but perhaps it will during Gamescom next week.

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