Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tip: Get 3 years of access for dirt cheap

For almost four years, gamers have been able to access hundreds of titles across PC and Xbox via Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service—but you don’t have to pay full price. If you play your cards right, you can lock in a 63 percent discount on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for up to three years.

(Update June 2023: This conversion trick still works as of June 17, 2023, even after the death of the $1 Game Pass Ultimate trial. But its days are very likely numbered, and it’s possible the end could be as soon as next month. Microsoft recently revealed it will raise the prices of Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate starting July 6. Whether that also means the death of this conversion trick remains to be seen.)

Back when the service first launched, early adopters discovered a surprising trick: Activating one month of Game Pass Ultimate on an account also converted existing Xbox Live Gold and standard Xbox Game Pass subscriptions to Ultimate (normally $15 per month) at a 1:1 rate. Any prepaid time up to the maximum of three years got the upgrade. And this generous conversion rate is still working to this day.

So if you have three months of Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass (or a combination of the two) on your account, you’ll end up with three months for your Game Pass Ultimate subscription, plus the additional one month from purchasing Game Pass Ultimate. Equally, 36 months of prepaid time transforms into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a full three years. It doesn’t matter the cost of that one month of Game Pass Ultimate. Even after the demise of the $1 trial, this 1:1 conversion rate is still in effect (for now).

Looking to load up on Xbox Live Gold at a discount? Keep an eye out for sales at Newegg. The retailer drops the cost of a 1-year subscription to $50 USD periodically. (You can set a deal alert for “xbox live” at Slickdeals.net for an email or push notification of future deals.) But even at the regular price of $60 USD per 12-month code, this hack is smoking.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundles together Microsoft’s Netflix-esque Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC subscriptions with its Xbox Live Gold multiplayer service.

It’s a sweet deal overall. Multiplatform gamers obviously benefit most, since Game Pass Ultimate bundles together Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass for PC. You’ll get unlimited access to a full range of titles across platforms, including upcoming Halo, Gears of War, and other Microsoft first-party game releases on PC.

But even gamers who play exclusively on PC benefit: Though Xbox Game Pass for PC only initially cost $5 per month, that price lasted only through the beta period, which ended September 16, 2020.

Loading up an account with three years of Xbox Live Gold ($180) and then converting it to Game Pass Ultimate for an additional $15 essentially locks in that $5-per-month rate for three years, which outlives the beta period pricing by a long shot. (You should be able to do this conversion trick if you participated in the Xbox Game Pass for PC beta.) It’s the smart move, because converting Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass memberships to Game Pass Ultimate afterward happens at a pro-rated amount.

3/26/2023: As reported by The Verge, Microsoft has killed its $1 Game Pass Ultimate trial. Previously, you could have used that trial to convert up to three years of Xbox Live Gold—which previous versions of this conversion trick even cheaper. For the moment, you can still do a 1:1 conversion by buying one month of Ultimate at full price ($15).

3/31/2022: Talk is swirling that Microsoft may eliminate Xbox Live Gold, which would kill this deal hack. A report from Brad Sams of Thurrott.com claims that the company is seeking to make Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (and its $15-per-month rate) the base-level plan. You can hear the details from Sams himself in this YouTube video, in which he also suggests that the death of Gold could happen when Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes in 2023, if approved by U.S. regulators. Additionally, current energy prices are driving up costs for Microsoft’s cloud computing services, leading the company to hint that price increases on Xbox consoles and subscriptions (like Game Pass) could come to pass. Our best guess is that no changes would be likely during the brisk holiday sales period, but after the start of 2023 it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen.

The most basic description of what you’ll do is this:

Buy Xbox Live Gold

Buy 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Agree to a conversion of your Gold and/or standard Game Pass subscription(s) to Game Pass Ultimate

However, you can run into a few pitfalls during this process—especially if you’re going for the maximum of three years. The detailed instructions below will help you avoid those mistakes.

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