With the recent news of Xbox Game Pass Core, as well as its recent release, some gamers are starting to ask: is it better than Xbox Live Gold? What are the similarities between the two? What is different? Let's take a look and find out for ourselves.

To have a clear comparison, let's first list down what each of these subscriptions offers to the player. This will make it easier to compare the two.

  • Xbox Live Gold ($9.99/month)
    • Online console multiplayer
      • This lets players play games online with other players
    • Games with Gold
      • Players get two free games per month
      • Xbox selects these games
      • These games are added to the player's library
      • Players must have an active subscription to play the games redeemed this way
    • Member discounts
      • Active subscribers can save up to 50% on select titles on the Microsoft Store
  • Xbox Game Pass Core ($9.99/month)
    • Online console multiplayer
      • This lets players play games online with other players
    • Game Library Access
      • Players have access to high-quality games on console
      • At launch, there are a total of 36 titles available
        • Among Us
        • Astroneer
        • Celeste
        • Dead Cells
        • Descenders
        • Dishonored 2
        • Doom Eternal Standard Edition
        • The Elder Scrolls Online
        • Fable Anniversary
        • Fallout 4
        • Fallout 76
        • Firewatch
        • Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition
        • Gang Beasts
        • Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition
        • Golf with your Friends
        • Grounded
        • Halo 5: Guardians
        • Halo Wars 2
        • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
        • Human: Fall Flat
        • Inside
        • Limbo
        • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
        • Overcooked! 2
        • Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
        • Powerwash Simulator
        • Psychonauts 2
        • Slay the Spire
        • State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
        • Superliminal
        • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
        • Unpacking
        • Vampire Survivors
      • Players will have access to these games as long as they have an active subscription
      • Additionally, the Game Pass Core library will update two to three times a year. That means this current list will keep on expanding.
    • Member discounts
      • Active subscribers can save up to 50% on select titles on the Microsoft Store

What are the similarities?

Both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Core give players access to online console multiplayer, which is one of the main reasons why players subscribe to Gold in the first place. Additionally, players get access to free games in both Core and Gold. This lets players play games they wouldn't normally play or own. Lastly, both of them give the players access to deals. It can give them deals of up to 50% off, which is pretty good.

What are the differences?

The main difference between the two is the way subscribers get free games. In Xbox Live Gold, players get two curated games a month. This month, for example, players can get Darkwood and When the Past was Around. This feature lets players potentially get 24 games a month that they can play as long as they are subscribed.

Game Pass Core, on the other hand, just immediately gives players access to a small library of games. As mentioned above, players will receive access to over 25 titles, although we only know nineteen of those titles. Players will no longer receive the two free games every month. They will instead have permanent access to a static library of games. By permanent, I mean that as long as their subscription is active, they will be able to play the games in the library.

Is Xbox Game Pass Core better than Xbox Live Gold?

The only difference between the two is that players will no longer receive free games every month with Game Pass Core. While this seems like a bad thing, it's not because of two reasons.

First, players who have been subscribed to Live Gold for any period have already received a sizable amount of games. Even if they were only subscribed for a few months, they have already received enough games to make up for their subscription. Not only that but because Live Gold subscriptions automatically become Game Pass Core ones, they get to keep whatever games they've already received.

Secondly, once players subscribe or upgrade to Game Pass Core, they will receive access to thirty-six games at launch. Under the old system, it would have taken a year or so to get all of those games via Games with Gold. Players will get a lot of mileage from these games. Additionally, since they are going to add new titles two to three times a year, the Game Pass Core library will just keep getting bigger. In a way, it's a more toned down version of the monthly free games.

So is it better? I would say yeah, it's better. You immediately get a year's worth of free games, you get to keep your current Games with Gold library, and you retain the other benefits. What's not to like with the Xbox Game Pass Core?

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