I'm always looking for deals on Xbox Game Pass, but the well has run considerably drier ever since the price hike last year.
Fortunately, I've been alerted to an old loophole coming back into place that lets you grab 13 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for only $8.45 a month! This was originally shared on HotUKDeals, but I've listed the process for our US readers to follow below.
This deal is only for people who have a lapsed subscription or have never subscribed, so please read carefully.
Step 1: Make sure your Game Pass Ultimate subscription is expired, if you have one.
This may sound obvious, but even if you have canceled your Game Pass Ultimate subscription previously, check that it's actually expired. Even if you cancel now, you won't expire until the end of the period you have paid, and this deal does not work with current subscriptions.
Step 2. Buy 3 codes for EA Play 12 months
The codes used in the UK forum where I found this deal are from Amazon, and the US site is currently out of stock. However, the EA Play 12-month codes from Best Buy should work just as well. The code is emailed to you after purchase.
Step 3: Redeem your EA Play codes
You can redeem the codes on your Xbox console or go to Microsoft Redeem
Take care not to accept recurring billing or any extra bonus months when redeeming. Microsoft does not allow more than three years of stacking, and any bonus months you take count towards the max.
Step 4: Upgrade your account to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Once you have redeemed your 36 months worth of EA Play, you will now need to buy an upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, this will be $19.99 direct from Xbox.
If you want to save a tiny bit more, you can grab for $18.49 from CDKeys, but I don't think it's worth the extra effort personally.
Step 5: Convert your EA Play sub to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Once you upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you'll be asked if you want to convert your EA Play subscription at a 3:1 ratio to Ultimate.
This means your 36 months of EA Play will convert to 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, plus the 1 month you purchased.
Total spend will be $109.96 for 13 months, which is equal to $8.45 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Normally, it would cost $19.99 per month, so this loophole gets you the subscription for more than half price, but it does require a high upfront spend to maximize the savings.
Is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate worth it?
Honestly even at full price, the value in Xbox Game Pass is better than ever right now. In the space of a few weeks we've had DOOM: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, the Oblivion Remaster, and classics like Diablo 3 and Grand Theft Auto V all added to the Xbox Game Pass library.
If that wasn't enough, the incredible Metaphor: ReFantazio is coming soon as well as a partnership with Antstream Arcade to bring over 50 old Activision retro titles to the service.
Xbox Game Pass is simply spilling over with great content this year after it's most insane quarter of releases ever, and in a rocky gaming climate right now where publishers and Xbox themselves are bumping games up to $80 a pop, it may be time to start looking at more cost-effective ways to game if you haven't yet.
