Buying an Xbox One bundle, picking up an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and maybe even signing up for Xbox Game Pass can be a lot to manage for potential new players. But if reports are accurate, Xbox All Access will make the whole thing a lot simpler very soon. According to Windows Central, later this month Microsoft will announce the new plan to give customers in the US a way to pick up a new console, two years of Xbox Live Gold, and two years of Xbox Game Pass, all as part of a discounted 24-month subscription.
The report (which jibes with a cheeky tease from a The Verge editor) indicates that customers will be able to pay about $22 a month for an Xbox One S and the pair of subscriptions, or about $35 a month to get an Xbox One X instead. Either way, the console will be yours to keep after the two-year payment plan is over, though then you'll have to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass like normal.
Bearing in mind that the prices Windows Central reported are subject to change (since Microsoft hasn't publicly announced any of this and it might never actually happen), let's do some math to see how good of a deal it could be. First, here's how much the two subscriptions would cost at standard prices, without any promotions or discounts.
- Two 12-month subscriptions ($59.99) to Xbox Live Gold: $119.98
- Twenty-four 1-month subscriptions ($9.99) to Xbox Game pass: $239.76
Now here's the total cost for the individual components:
- Subscriptions plus a 1TB Xbox One S ($299.99): $659.73
- Subscriptions plus an Xbox One X ($499.99): $859.73
And here's how much Xbox All Access would cost after two years:
- Reported cost of Xbox One S All Access (24 months at $22 a month): $528
- Reported cost of Xbox One X All Access (24 months at $35 a month): $840
Assuming you get a 1TB Xbox One S out of the deal, that's a very good bargain. You save a bit of money with the Xbox One X arrangement as well, but if you put any effort into finding deals you could probably get an equal or better price a la carte.
Still, the discount is only part of the appeal - this will also be a very welcoming offer for folks who can't or don't want to lay out the substantial cash you need to buy a console all at once. Not to mention the nice selection of games you get in Xbox Game Pass (including day-one access to new first-party games), which means you could pretty easily get by on this plan alone without ever laying out any cash beyond your monthly sub.
Nice one, Microsoft! I mean, assuming this report is accurate, the prices aren't too much higher, and Xbox All Access will actually be a thing. It's a conditional "nice one."
Looking for more to play? Check out our list of the 30 best Xbox One games.
