RELATED:The Best Holiday Gifts for Xbox Series X Owners in 2020
The Cumulative Value of Xbox Live’s Games with Gold in 2020
First, compiling the list of all games (Original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One titles) together makes 48 total gamesoffered from the Games with Gold service. That’s four a month, with the selection flip-floppping between two Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, or two Xbox One games, an Xbox 360 game, and an Original Xbox game. Excluding any deals that have occurred involving the games on this list, that’s a total Games with Gold value of $1,075.52, based on each game’s MSRP value. Now compare that to Xbox Live Gold which can be as high as $119.88/year when paying $9.99/month, or as low as $60/year by paying annually.
Just a couple things to note: Theannual subscription for Xbox Live Gold is no longer available, but since that option was taken down later in 2020, it’s still a valid comparison for the yearly cost. That comparison is also without even mentioning if at any point Xbox Live Gold memberships were on sale from retailers like Best Buy or Amazon. It’s also worth noting that Xbox Live Gold is also bundled into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription as well, which is currently $14.99/month.
Even at the highest cost of Xbox Live Gold, that’s still $955.64 of savings if players added every Games with Gold option to their respective libraries. However, it’s important to consider the games themselves that were offered on the service:
RELATED:Xbox’s Games with Gold May Have a Big Identity Crisis in November 2020
Games with Gold’s Relevance is Fading Fast
Obviously in direct comparison to Xbox Game Pass, this list pales in comparison to what’s offered on Xbox’s premium games library. The overall value of Xbox Game Pass, even after the lowest possible subscription rate ($9.99/month), outpaces Games with Gold’s value by at least three times over. That’s even generously assuming players were interested in, added to their library, and played all 48 different games offered this year. This goes back to the issue with Games with Gold in its current iteration, a redundancy problem. There’s a reason why so many continuously express disappointment in the YouTube commentsof every recent Games with Gold unveiling.
As for what the future looks like for the service, it’s hard to say. During a time where many would’ve expected Xbox Game Pass to supplant Games with Gold, December’s offering still rolled along like a new Xbox hadn’t launched less than a month prior. Compared to PS Plus, which consistently offers up well known and surprisingly popular games on its monthly offering,Games with Gold just doesn’t match up.
Pair that with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles in Xbox Live Gold anyway, and there’s even less reason to pay attention to Games with Gold. 2021 could potentially bring changes to the service, but for right now, Games with Gold is quickly becoming irrelevant.
MORE:Value of PS Plus Games in 2020 Blows Subscription Costs Out of the Water
