So games on Game Pass have a time limit and eventually get removed?

Why would anyone subscribe to this service if games get taken off the service? I was under the impression that once a game gets added on Game Pass, it stays there forever. I thought they were just going to keep adding and adding games to the library, and eventually accumulate a massive library. Even then, I wasn't interested in the service because it's missing a lot of the games I like. But since games get removed from the service and you don't even know when they're going to be removed, the price tag is way too expensive.

It works like netflix. Games rotate, yes, why wouldn't they?

I would feel rushed to play through games, thinking in the back of my mind that the next game I want to play is going to disappear. I like owning my games, knowing I can play them at my discretion without having to worry about them disappearing. Game Pass is a pretty expensive service considering THEY decide what you get to play and you don't even get to decide what you get to play. Netflix is totally different because movies are short and people very rarely watch them twice. You can easily spend months on one game.

Yes. And good games have been removed in the ~year I've had it. Not great. But that's how they "getcha"

I got a 15 day Game Pass voucher included with an Xbox Series X controller I bought. I used the voucher just to get the 20% Game Pass discount on a few games I bought digitally, saved me more than the price of the controller. That's pretty cool. I would only recommend using free Game Pass vouchers included with games and controllers to get discounts on buying games, but I wouldn't recommend actually subscribing to the Game Pass service.

Why in the world would someone think that every time a game gets added to Game Pass that it would stay there forever? If that were the case then the list of games would just infinitely get larger and the money from subscribers would have to get spread out to an ever increasing number of games.

@Archangel3371: it would be completely unsustainable, I would think, financially

The games are on there long enough, and by the time they get removed they will be heavily discounted if you liked the game that much ...

I just bought River City Girls last night using the Game Pass discount and this morning, the Game Pass icon has been taken off the game. Looks like I lucked out and got it at the last minute.

Everyone is different, I'm sure this service appeals to some, but for me, the Netflix model doesn't work for video games at all.

@xantufrog: Exactly. Either that or they would have to continually raise the subscription fee every time new games get added.

It happens to PSNow as well and most services like these. I mean even spotify and apple muaic remove songs once license expires.

Yeah just like any other sub service, my dude.

Just like anything else you spend money on you need to figure out the value proposition for yourself based on what games you want to play and how much you'll be spending vs buying the games. Simple economics.

The games are on the service long enough for you to complete even if you decide to take a break several times with each break being a week long.

That is nuts. Don't know why you would think that, but I assure you, very few people have such an idea in their head. That idea just wouldn't work without the price of admission skyrocketing. People get GP for the value, and value usually has a cost beyond price.

I just read that they give you 14-30 days notice before removing games on Game Pass. That's assuming you're regularly checking on it daily. I would want at least a 6 months notice.

And they rotate many of the games back on after a hiatus

Yeah they do. If this bothered me I wouldn't subscribe and just buy games again.

I used to think that. Owning games meant I could play them when ever I want.

In reality 90% of the games I bought I'd just play once or twice and then they'd just add to my ever growing pile of shame. I just ended up with a wall of games that I never played.

Such a waste of money and made my house look like a games shop.

That's why I subscribe but as you say everyones different.

How is this a thing it’s been known since it started!!

Yeah, I guess what it comes down to is that the Game Pass model doesn't fit my gaming habits at all. I just play the same games over and over again. I could go 10 years without buying a new game and be fine. That's why a service that removes games doesn't work for me at all. I'd be much better served buying a game I really like and playing it for years and years. Actually, half my Xbox game library is currently available on Game Pass, but they are games I want to continue playing for many years. I don't want Game Pass to decide when I don't get to play them anymore.

But now that I think about it, even if Game Pass kept games forever, it still wouldn't make sense for me to use it. If I just wanted to play 1 game for many years, what sense would it make to keep paying $120 every year just to play that 1 game? It would make more sense to just buy it for $60 or maybe even cheaper if it's on sale.

Probably best if you just keep buying games then.

I'd assume only games that won't be removed is MS first party.

Not sure about EA games.

Yeah, not sure why this would be surprising. It's how subscription services work.

Games are generally on the service for a few months.

Exactly. Most people don't finish games anyways. It's like they're always looking out for you and giving you something new. Microsoft cares about you. They would pet my cat if I had one.

To be fair they give them a decent amount of time to beat and offer discounts on buying games in gamepass.

TC just need to just not do sub services and just buy games. I for one LOVE Game pass and try tons of games I would never even consider tying otherwise. I just love that about it.

just buy the games.. Game Pass is just an option..

Figured you understood this given the previous exchange. You even drew the comparison to Netflix.

Yeah man, seems it's just not your thing.

Really heartwarming story, glad you shared.

Not gonna lie, had the same thought when it first launched.

Hold on here just a minute. So TC was in a previous thread talking about how he had no interest in Game Pass because he likes to own his games and doesn’t like that they come and go yet he makes this thread now about how he “suddenly” found out that games get rotated in and out of Game Pass?

This all seems very sus to me. 😅

@arkephonic: They rotate, but if you download them, you can keep playing it as long as your account is active.

@dabear: that's not true. They deactivate when it leaves GP. At least on PC. (recent example I have personal experience with: AoW Planetfall)

*edit* technically they don't "deactivate" but the license/DRM is set to fail/be blocked.

It would be nice to have more heads up, it seems like they tell you the month something is leaving and that could leave anywhere from 2 weeks to a whole month nearly, I try sometimes to get some time with games that are leaving that interest me. Basically one should jump on these right away at that point and if you aren't ready then just sigh, there's plenty more.

Problem is that there is just too much to play, not enough time, games aren't as simple as say watching a movie.

I have discovered some games I have come to enjoy in these leaving crunches and decided to later add to my collection because of it, Dandara being one (which later got added to GwG most recently, doh) and Sinner, like a Dark Souls with just bosses but the order you beat them in matters because each one restricts the players abilities some, and that OnRush made by the ex-Evolution staff at Codemasters. There are lots more I am taking for granted that I will likely also get should they ever leave, like Enter the Gungeon or Outer Wilds.

As far as what's leaving soon there's that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night I haven't got to play yet, and Kona. So downloading those now. Witcher 3 is leaving too but honestly I have had it for 5 years and haven't played it yet still, big time investment so I keep putting it off.

Bizarre complaint. GP offers an alternative to spending a lot of money on one game that might - if you’re lucky - last you a few months. More likely they’re one play and done 10 hours SP games.

No idea why you are expecting games to be available forever.

Xbox is living rent free in so many minds..

The only use that Game Pass has for me is the free 15 day vouchers that come included with controllers and some games. For example, just last night I used a 15 day Game Pass voucher to "rent" some games like the FF7 port just to see how it performed and how good of a port it was. Then when I decided to buy it, I got a 20% discount from the Game Pass voucher making it only like $12. That's the only purpose for Game Pass for me, the vouchers to get a quick 30 minute rental of a game and then a 20% discount if I decide to buy it. Actually subscribing to the service would be a total waste of money for me.

@lamprey263: I agree, I don't think it's quite as simple as Pedro makes it. Some games are very long, and you have no idea when they will be pulled - there's a decent chance you may begin a game and find it will be pulled before you are done, or that you need to stop playing a game in order to prioritize one you had on your list and are suddenly learning will vanish in a few weeks. I do think that's part of their strategy, though - it... encourages... you to buy games you've invested time in or planned to invest time in in some cases.

I personally consume games very slowly - working my ass off IRL most of the time, plus I don't play just one game at a time because rarely am I in the mood for the same game every time I boot up the system for month (or much much longer). So my hours are spread thin. Even a 20 hour game is a bit of a gamble unless they've just added it (then, presumably you've got a year or so)

Thats some weak trolling op, also hillarious that you already tried this in another thread...

@xantufrog: you probably shouldn’t use game pass then... works great for me personally, even though I am also quite busy irl, and yeah if I suddenly end up in a situation where a game rotates while I still play it, I can always just buy it I guess!

^And that's another thing Xantufrog, we all have a life and some of us don't have time to be playing everything on Game Pass and when you finally do have time, it might be too late to start playing that game before it leaves very soon. Its true I'm good ay managing my time wisely but my own issue I try to play multiple games despite its my only hobby in my life. Easy for Pedro to say, sometimes life gets complicated lol.

Edit: MS could at least have an expiration date asap whenever something new comes to GP.

I have no problem with them removing games with ample notice. It's not like you can't purchase the game outright if you enjoyed it so much while it was there. That is very likely one of the reasons the service is viable since people still buy games that were on the service after they take them down.

You are correct, I am mistaken. All the GamePass games I have are still on GamePass.

Not sure how that would be surprising to anyone, it's a subscription service so off course things will come and go.

That's one reason why I would never touch these, I like to own my games rather than be subscribed to them.

Wow so much moaning if a game appears you want to play play it if you can’t in time but it! This is not new and has been like this so other service started! You can’t just keep adding and never removing as it will clutter the service and make deals with new games worthless if no one plays as the have a thousands of others to play. But hey is MS so bitch and moan cows

Just keep in mind that Microsoft is 100% banking on Game Pass and going all in on Game Pass. Their entire business model has shifted entirely to Game Pass subscriptions. Now ask yourself, why? Obvious answer, it makes the most money. So on average, anyone with a Game Pass subscription is getting hustled because it's making Microsoft more money than if you just buy games in the traditional sense. For someone like me, and my gaming habits as I described, I might as well flush my money down the toilet if I subscribe to Game Pass.

And as xantufrog very intelligently pointed out, a large part of this strategy is giving you little to no warning when a game is getting taken off Game Pass, a game you are already invested in, which turns into a game purchase ON TOP of the Game Pass Subscription. Because let's be honest, how many Game Pass subscribers actually keep up to date on when games will be taken off Game Pass? Hell, I don't even know how to find out that information. They give you little to no warning before removing a game from Game Pass and make that information very difficult to find because of their strategy of wanting you to buy games after they get removed from Game Pass.

This is exactly why Game Pass greatly differentiates from Netflix, because no one is watching half a movie and then buying the movie after it gets taken off Netflix.

I feel that way when I buy a game for $60 that I know I will put 20-30 hours into and then never play again.

As I said in my previous post, you can only do the value proposition for you and you alone.

Personally Game Pass saves me money. I really don't care about game 'ownership' for 95% of the games I play. Just let me play it and be done for a fraction of the cost.

Not sure why you are keeping this thread going since you've made it very clear what your feelings are, and so have everyone else at this point.

I think I would be more ok with Game Pass (I still wouldn't use it) if they were more transparent about when games expired. Like under every single game, they should have an expiration date in bold, clear as day for everyone to see. The fact that they try to hide the expiration dates of games on Game Pass makes me feel like it's a shady and underhanded practice.

Game Pass is the great sampler. You sub then try out games you otherwise wouldn't bother with. While subbed you can buy anything you like at a discount. It's better than Gamefly because it's instantaneous.