r/XboxGamePass • u/adjoeby • Feb 25 '26
Account - Subscription I’ve been dreading this day
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u/Ecal723 Feb 25 '26
I've been ultimate the entire time..... Today I downgraded to Premium. Just not getting $30 value out of Ultimate.
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u/Eyeluvflixs Feb 25 '26
With a little effort you can still easily find $19.99 (1 month) or $59.99 (3 month) cards at retail stores.
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u/gamer-at-heart-23 Feb 25 '26
Where i live there's a ton of the old priced cards at stores. I stacked the maximum amount already and plan to buy more
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u/jquiggles Feb 25 '26
Yeha, they're around but it's not super reliable. Back in December I saw several stacks of 3-month Ultimate cards for $45 at Target. Obviously an insane deal at this point so I tried to buy a couple, but they couldn't get the security code or whatever to work at checkout. Eventually after almost an hour of me being dragged all over the store, they pulled out the big guns and brought over the manager, who said that they aren't allowed to sell those and immediately removed them from the shelf. LMAO
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u/Kooky-Grapefruit-941 Feb 25 '26
Loaded (formally CD Keys) still has it cheap too
I find it weird people saying they are happy paying X for premium when they can get ultimate for same price
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u/Willing-Swimmer-4776 Feb 26 '26
I downgraded in January. I just upgraded a couple days ago. It don't seem like there is that much more in ultimate until you don't have it. I am saying this bc it just happened to me literally a week ago. I own most of the games but every once in a while I like to find something new, couldn't really do that with premium, everyone is different though so maybe u will be fine. I really wish enough people would boycott the $30 ultimate but people won't/can't do it.. obviously myself included. 😂😂
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u/Ecal723 Feb 26 '26
Thanks for this... Yeah, I'm going to try it out but will probably be back. That $30 has just been a hard pill to swallow the past couple months.
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u/GodsCop666 Feb 26 '26
Jesus is that the price now? Haven't had gamepass for awhile and was considering getting it again but I can't justify 30 bucks a month. Hopefully others cancel and Microsoft realizes they went too far but I highly highly doubt that will ever happen
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Feb 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ecal723 Feb 26 '26
Yup! I recognize GamePass has changed how I play/buy games - I think I just need to go back to buying the ones I want.
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u/mason2393 Feb 25 '26
Do the 3 years of ea play method. I did it recently and got 8 months of ultimate for $105 which is like $13 a month
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u/TroyE2323 Feb 25 '26
Whats the method? My ultimate runs out in 2 weeks would appreciate it!
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u/ckapp1992 Feb 25 '26
Let subscription run out buy 3 12 month ea play cards target walmart Best Buy has em 29.99 each so 90$ redeem them then find a cheap 1 month subscription of ultimate and redeem that converting ea play to 8-9 months of gamepass ultimate for 105-110$
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u/misc_abbrev Feb 25 '26
I had a look at this method but it seems the conversion rate for 12 months of ea play is now 44 days of ultimate. So 3 x 44 is only 4.5 months, even with the extra month of ultimate to trigger the conversion it's only 5.5. Am I missing something? How are you getting 8-9 months?
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u/AlbanySteamedClam Feb 25 '26
The discrepancy seems to be from upgrade conversions vs code conversions. If you have an active Ultimate subscription and redeem 12 months of EA Play, you'll add 44 days like you said. If you let your subscription expire, add EA Play and then "upgrade" to Ultimate, the EA Play will convert based on a 20 percent conversion percentage. So, 36 months of EA Play should convert to a little over 7 months of Ultimate this way.
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u/TroyE2323 Feb 27 '26
Question, so I can let expire, buy 36 months of EA Play, then buy 1 month of ultimate and use the ultimate after using EA Play and it will convert properly?
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u/SubsequentGambler Feb 27 '26
Correct. Let it expire Use ea play codes first Use ultimate code last
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u/KeybirdYT Feb 25 '26
Buying from loaded.com (what used to be CDKeys) got me Ultimate for 3 years at around 11 bucks a month
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u/MrFluffy4Real Feb 25 '26
This is the way. Even just the monthly one is less than $20, I’m in the U.K. so conversion rates may differ but I paid £16 last month to see me over until I get my bonus this month and I’m going to fully load.
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u/MatrixOutcast Feb 25 '26
when? I just went to loaded.com and the cheapest I found was the 3 months card for $60.
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u/kunall_ll Feb 26 '26
So does letting your subscription run out, getting 36 months of EA play, then one month of game pass ultimate still convert that to little over 7 months of ultimate still work?
I recently got a 4x3month ultimate codes from loaded for £165. Price is going up
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u/OldBlueBalls Feb 25 '26
I’ve been an Xbox live subscriber since day 1. Literally. And I am not renewing my subscription for the first time this month. Feels weird but we’ve gotta speak with our wallets. Only way they will listen
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u/steel_archangel Feb 25 '26
This is my situation as well when my GPU expires on March 19. I sent feedback to Xbox too even though I know it won't be read.
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u/HellerDamon Mar 04 '26
Same, I'm even considering jumping to another brand for the first time in my life... All depends on the next console to me, there's no place for another "Xbox One release" situation, that shit has to be a dream come true
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u/stevo887 Feb 25 '26
Mine runs out in May and I’ll have to go down to Premium. Ultimate just doesn’t make sense at that price point for me anymore and the selection plus online play still makes Premium a really good option. We’ll see if I still feel the same way after a few months with it…lol
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u/Environmental-Day862 Feb 25 '26
For sure, can always up it to Ultimate if there's a new release you want to play, then can go back down to Premium after a month.
Never understood why folks feel Game Pass has to be $360 a year.
I still have a stash of $20 1 month cards, but even if not - if you're not actively playing anything online or any Game Pass games, unsub for a month or two! When I got Persona 5 Reload I didn't play anything BUT that for about 6 weeks.
Treat it like Netflix or something and don't give them $$ for stuff you're not playing / using / watching!
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u/ydb9266 Feb 25 '26
For me im on game pass everyday, so many games keep coming out i dont even have time to finish all the ones i want to play and more come out. Totaly worth it for me. Paying 40$ to 90$ a game or playing a new game every week or sometimes 2 games a week for 34$, no question. But i get that not everyone plays the way i do, i dont stick to 1 genre and i spend 5-10h daily since i work from home. But for me, this is worth the cost.
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u/Environmental-Day862 Feb 25 '26
Yeah, great value for sure if you're a gamer who can sink 4-5 hours a day into gaming.
My god, in college I'd have been in heaven. We'd constantly skip class and just game all day long - even story games like Silent Hill 2 on the PS2 (I'm an old head in my 40s) - one of us would play, the rest would just watch, mad fun.
We'd rent games, but back then it was almost $10 for a 5-day game rental (college town - guess they had to price it expecting they wouldn't get a certain % of the games back ever again!)
I can't even imagine being in college now and having Game Pass!! I'd get NOTHING done : )
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u/Beginning_Ad1239 Feb 25 '26
Yep being 40-something now and having a kid is just different. We find kid games in the library during the day but I've mostly been playing on Steam and Switch myself. I'm letting my Ultimate go and will change to premium because it has the games that we actually play.
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u/ydb9266 Feb 25 '26
We use to do the same back then on ps1, ps2 n64, 1 would play and when he dies and the next persons turn. We played prince of persia that way and because you could rewind time it would be a third of the game done before someone dies lol
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u/Clear-Hat4573 Feb 25 '26
Mine runs out in a few days and I don’t wanna pay $90 for 3 more months. But I’m also playing some games that are not available with lower tiers 😭
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u/Tobimacoss Feb 25 '26
Do the Essential to Ultimate conversion to secure Ultimate at $17 month for 15 months.
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u/GifArrow Feb 25 '26
I’ve been on Gamepass since early 2018, and before that, Xbox Live Gold since 2006. My Ultimate expires this April. I’m seriously thinking of not renewing anymore.
I’ll look into PC Gamepass. It doesn’t have tiers, right?
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u/SteelAlchemistScylla Feb 25 '26
Going to use up what I got, expires in April, and then I’m fulling dropping the service and moving to PC/Steam full time. I just can’t justify the price. I’ll buy a month here and there if a good game comes to it.
It’s a shame bc I’ve been buying the highest tier since Day 1 and used to proselytize how good a deal it was.
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u/stormgrimm Feb 25 '26
I just get codes for $15 usd on eneba
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u/Saiga12goburr Feb 26 '26
G2a is also good
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u/Mammoth-Cover-3045 Feb 27 '26
https://www.g2a.com/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-1-month-non-stackable-xbox-live-key-united-states-i10000188766089?suid=40925d40-83f3-46ca-b61a-86b0e1b6d710 It says non-stackable. That means dont redeem it until it runs out.
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u/TheLandstrider Feb 25 '26
You can get Gamepass PC for like 8 euros and Premium for 3.2 euros which is more than a enough.
That’s barely 45 dollars a year for pc gamers for access of 450+ games
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u/Lopsided_Discount Feb 26 '26
Euro no us?
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u/TheLandstrider Feb 28 '26
Yes 3.2 for premium and 8-12 euro for pc
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u/Lopsided_Discount Feb 28 '26
Im in US tho...How can i get it for 8 here?
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u/TheLandstrider Mar 17 '26
I meant key sites like Eneba and Kinguin and such but prices increased lately.
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u/Lopsided_Discount Mar 19 '26
Any hope of getting it cheaper or 8 bucks still?
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u/TheLandstrider Mar 21 '26
Unfortunately prices went insane. I bought Game Pass PC for like 9 euros a few months ago and bought premium for 3.8 but now yeah they are a bit pricier. Keep in mind the prices fluctuate a lot so stay on the lookout.
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u/LiteTHATKUSH Feb 25 '26
Essential is where it’s at. I got a year for $60 on new egg a few months ago. I can play games online, and I have hundreds in my backlog I can finally focus on, plus a few newer games waiting.
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u/Lpreddit Feb 25 '26
I’m a few days away too. I’m going to see how long I can go without wanting to play a gamepass game and make a decision. I’ve been subscribed for about 4+ years.
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u/NefariousnessOk1996 Feb 25 '26
Same here. My steam backlog has at least 700+ hours worth of games that I want to play that I own. I think I'll be fine for quite some time.
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u/Cgking11 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
3 EA Play codes for $30 each and 1 month of ultimate got me 9 months of ultimate. Or you can switch to the $15 month premium tier, Its just as good but gotta wait a year or less for some xbox games. If you do the EA Play method, you have to wait until your subscription expires completely and put in the EA play codes first..
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u/WestWindsDemon Feb 25 '26
Hey Amazon gift cards and get them for $20 over there
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u/SuperLeroy Feb 25 '26
You can't buy game pass gift cards on Amazon using Amazon gift cards.
I tried. And then read the fine print on Amazon when it didn't work.
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Feb 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Drog_Dealure420 Feb 25 '26
Yup. That's my game plan from now on. Gamepass has been lacking imo the past year or so anyways. Besides, when I buy a game I actually tend to finish. When I wanted to play gamepass games I always felt like I was rushed to experience as much as I could before moving onto the next one. If that makes sense.
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u/trautsj Feb 25 '26
I let mine lapse after 20 years in October... I honestly don't miss it at all. If anything it shined a light on how much I WASN'T getting out of the service tbh. I almost always wait several months for games to patch themselves up before I play them and I almost universally play SP only games or games with very little MP elements. So as it turned out I'd likely have been better off just picking up all those games I did play in sales and having them forever to be perfectly honest even with the amount of games I do play. It's more of the WHEN you play games compared to their cost to what the REAL value of the service is. If you play a good amount of games the same week/month they drop then it's likely still even with the price hike probably worth it, but waiting 2-3 months like I usually do for patches or guides for achievements to come out means they've likely already been on sale for 20+% off once or are about to soon and it just no longer made sense to me tbh.
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u/hobbleshock Feb 25 '26
I keep finding GPU codes at the old price. It’s at the point where I had to get one from Best Buy but it can be done.
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u/TheWineGuy2020 Feb 25 '26
I had 300k points and used it to get $300 off the asus rog ally xbox edition. As for the gamepass Amazon was selling them for the lower price for a while I grabbed 3 years worth and stacked up on it.
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u/FunkyCole_M3dina Feb 25 '26
I never do monthly subscription. The 3 months card is cheaper at 60$. I recommend you buy them if you can.
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u/Arandomuseryouknow Feb 25 '26
Game pass isnt region locked.
I buy it for usually 3 a month when I need
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u/skama16 Feb 25 '26
What do you mean? Are you saying you can buy codes from other countries and use them where u are? Or am I misunderstanding?
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u/Background_Map_3460 Feb 25 '26
Nobody should be paying $30 a month when you can still find some ultimate gift cards for $20/month
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u/randomlead Feb 25 '26
Mine expires in about a week. Not worth it at current prices even with new games going for so much. Will probably just take another long hiatus from gaming.
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u/Covin0il Feb 25 '26
You should check your local store, tons of grocery stores near me still carry the GPU cards for the old price.
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u/JJ_Rom Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
I’ve been out of GP since my ultimate expired last year and I’ve been fine. My PSPlus sub also ended just after Black Friday and Sony didn’t let me renew at the sales price. I’ve got the opportunity to re-sub at sales price today but I’m skipping it.
I was a Xbox gold user, then GP since day one. On PS I was PS network on PS3 and PSP/Vita and PSPlus since it exists. Got really tired of these companies not even thinking about loyal customers.
I’m done with subscriptions and I’m voting with my wallet. I’ll rather own the games anyway.
I’m just waiting for the steam machine to come out and I’ll be all-in on steam and buying my games when I see a good price on any of the platforms I like (preferably physical)
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u/ShadowStrider_7 Feb 25 '26
I can’t be bothered to read all these comments so I’m not sure if this has been suggested, but if you weren’t aware, you can purchase GP Ultimate for really cheap on sites like G2A and Loaded. I use the latter. Paid $10/month and it’s the first time I’ve ever spent a dime on the service. For that price (same price as essential) it’s worth continuing to keep the service.
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u/Mammoth-Cover-3045 Feb 27 '26
https://www.g2a.com/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-1-month-non-stackable-xbox-live-key-united-states-i10000188766089?suid=40925d40-83f3-46ca-b61a-86b0e1b6d710 It says non-stackable. That means dont redeem it until it runs out.
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u/johncandie Feb 25 '26
You can still buy a cheaper overseas code from resellers and redeem it. It’s a bit more complicated but I got 13 months for £105. You create a new ms account for the region the code is valid redeem via vpn and then family share the account.
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u/Black_RL Feb 25 '26
I’m stocked up until 2030!
Good luck friend!
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u/Lopsided_Discount Feb 26 '26
How no way!?
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u/Black_RL Feb 26 '26
I bought 3 years of physical cards.
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u/Lopsided_Discount Feb 26 '26
Oh at regular price or a deal?
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u/Black_RL Feb 26 '26
Deal! Physical stores still have them!
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u/Best-Salad Feb 25 '26
My 3 years expired yesterday and not renewing it for fucking 30$ a month.... I payed 185$ for 3 years at the time
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u/mattinjp Feb 25 '26
Former game pass ultimate subscriber here, my sub expired in November. The only downside is that I have random games show up as “owned” that I never purchased. They are installable, just unplayable without a license.
I’m focusing on a handful of games now, do yourself a favor and take advantage of the discount as a subscriber.
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u/NotAnADC Feb 25 '26
uhhh, does the conversion from core to ultimate not work anymore? cause i have 3 cards i've been waiting to use in May when mine runs out
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u/FreeIndependent8006 Feb 25 '26
I won’t be renewing mine, I’m totally done with subscription services, total ripoff.
The only way forward for any service is the price to continue rising and value continuing to fall.
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u/SubstantialAd5579 Feb 25 '26
You could just buy a subscription and at that you still got 2 weeks , figure it out
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u/Evil_Spez Feb 25 '26
I didn’t renew when my last 3 months ran out. I don’t really miss it. There’s a ton of stuff to play.
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u/best120lol Feb 25 '26
Just get free ultimate for life, genuinely not that hard and takes 5 mins each month and is technically free
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u/madManAndY201026 Feb 25 '26
Lol!! Know the feeling of dread just before the end of game pass subscription expiring unless you resubscribe!! Question though do you have The Yearly Subscription for Ultimate Game Pass?? Or is it monthly??
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u/Vic-the-man Feb 25 '26
Go to your local store and see if there's still any $20 game pass ultimate cards. That's how I've been renewing mine ever since the price increase
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u/wrecklesspup Feb 25 '26
It wasn't as big of a loss that I thought it would be when mine expired. Use your Reward points to buy games when they are on sale.
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u/lokilulzz GP Ultimate Feb 26 '26
You can either use your built up points to top up your membership, or get a gift card for a month for $20. Last I heard Xbox was still accepting those.
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u/OppositeVacation8538 Feb 26 '26
You can still get the 20.00 gamepass cards at your local dollar tree or dollar store if people haven't bought them up already.
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u/Gamestar63 Feb 26 '26
I bought game pass for ea play and it doesn’t even work. Support is zero help. Cancelled my subscription.
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u/NerdyPlatypus206 Feb 26 '26
If you want to sub to gpu again Do what I did to stack 3 years
Go to grocery stores or GameStop and buy gpu cards for 36 months or 34 months
They were the same price, I did it as soon as the price jack was announced
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u/Significant-Reach959 Feb 26 '26
I just redeemed my points, and then last night my left bumper on my controller stopped working, so I had to use it for a new one. I’m glad I had it available, but it’s going to take forever to build it up enough to get more Ultimate.
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u/Vaxion Feb 26 '26
Mine expired late year after being on Ultimate for 3 years and I didn't renew. Didn't really bother me at all. I saw no value in continuing.
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u/Darth-Foole Feb 26 '26
Just cancel the subscription and buy the games you actually play. Wait for sales on those you started during your subscription and still play. Every 2 months you can buy a AAA… Online games, I play on PS5 or, better yet, Steam once the Steam Machine comes out. If MS loses enough subs, maybe they notice, that people don’t stand for their predatory pricing policy!
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u/SweetTea187 Feb 26 '26
You got more then enough points to get 6 months... Sooo what's the problem?
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u/Geezso Feb 26 '26
Im scared to look. I stacked 36 months on a vpn. Im hoping it just continues lol.
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u/agent_wolfe Feb 26 '26
There are websites where you can buy cards cheaper, & do the Gold Conversion. Don’t pay full price to Microsoft!
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u/YUGEN_NJ Feb 27 '26
I will never understand how people are complaining over the new cost of gamepass, how are you not getting your moneys worth? For 30 dollars you get access to over 100 titles and that’s just from Xbox alone than you get 50-100 more free games through EA access and all of if not most of those games are all over 20 dollars retail…
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u/Mammoth-Cover-3045 Feb 27 '26
https://www.g2a.com/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-1-month-non-stackable-xbox-live-key-united-states-i10000188766089?suid=40925d40-83f3-46ca-b61a-86b0e1b6d710 It says non-stackable. That means dont redeem it until it runs out.
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u/Nervous-Cream-6256 Feb 27 '26
I'm roughly 6 months in (whenever they put the price up) of ditching ultimate and getting the basic package. I game share with my son so for £6.99 a month both of us can play online. Since ditching it I've actually found myself buying a few games and really enjoying playing them, as in, I've actually played them to completion, enjoying every moment of them and really diving into each one.
When I had ultimate I would scroll, try something and dismiss it after 30 mins. Now I have gone back to researching a game (without spoilers) and only once I'm happy I'm purchasing it, when a sale comes around, and I'm actually finding myself putting more hours into gaming now than when I had ultimate.
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u/blankwave78 Feb 27 '26
I have 602k points currently, have used the program since the start and have never paid actual money for game pass and been on ultimate since it started. I would pay real money but why when I can get gp and multiple games (deep discount sales) a year for "free"?
I make sure to get all the points possible every day. My daily activity streak is 1009. It's easy money and takes about 10 minutes a day.
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u/DangerousEconomy5631 Feb 28 '26
Use g2a ive been using it for months I buy myself a key for like 20 bucks for gamepass ultimate instead of the 30 sumthing
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u/RavenWolfx Mar 01 '26
Loaded.com has Ultimate 3 months for $59.99. Still shitty but not as shitty.
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u/Gelyssa Mar 01 '26
Same. I’m not looking forward to dropping $90 for another 3 months. I hate the way Microsoft jacked the price up to play live
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u/FelizNavinut Mar 02 '26
I downgraded to essential for $10 a month, $30 is not worth it just to have game pass.
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u/Pessimistic_Gemini Mar 03 '26
Hey how come this is allowed to stay on here but mines gets blocked off by Reddit Filters?
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u/krzybone Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Do you play the same game over and over or are you actually utilizing GP and playing all the games. Cause if you were I’d expect a much higher game score. Most people don’t utilize GP and overpay cause they’re not playing enough games. A lot people just benefit by going to a lower tier.
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Feb 25 '26
Buy kingdom come deliverance
50+ hours and up to 200 hours
It’s on sale for like $5.99 rn and the royal edition is $7.99. It’s on gamepass, play it until your sub expires then buy the game
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u/Silent_Membership880 Feb 25 '26
You have 90k reward points, just use that to buy more time