The best game subscriptions: Game on (and on and on)

Subscription services are everywhere these days, from video streaming to password managers and antivirus. And games are no exception. Whether you play games on a computer, console or mobile device, there’s a subscription service that can unlock access to a wider range of games.

Prices start at free manual library additions to the kind of monthly costs that make Netflix’s priciest tier look reasonable. Whatever your platform/s of preference, we’ve rounded up the best game subscriptions that are worth considering.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate isn’t just the best because it has “Ultimate” in the title. It’s the best because of its platform versatility and overall value. You can stream new-release Xbox Series X|S games on Xbox One, play exclusives on PC and get lost in a back catalogue of classic Xbox titles on a new-gen Xbox. It’s great to see a cloud-streaming service that actually works, and the device compatibility means you can convert an old laptop or tablet into a gaming screen as long as you have solid internet and a controller. With close to 500 games to choose from and Microsoft’s studio expansion implicitly promising to include even more, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a subscription whose value is impossible to deny (unless you don’t use it).

Alternatively, consider PlayStation Plus Extra if you’re a Sony fan or Nintendo Switch Online if you love all things Ninty.

What’s better than a cheap game subscription? A free one! Epic Games may be limited to PC and Mac owners, but you can (and should) create a free Epic Games account and use a browser to add free games to your account. New titles drop every week or so and the end of year is typically a time when there’s a new free game every day. Not every free game is a renowned title but that’s sometimes a great way to find something new. Mercifully, not every noteworthy catalogue addition is a new release, meaning those with more modest PC or Mac specs can still play at least some of the games that are added to the library.

If you’re a Switch owner, Nintendo Switch Online is reasonably priced at $29.95 a year (or $59.95 for more games), plus you can try Fortnite for free on Xbox Cloud Gaming or a free hour session of GeForce Now.

If you play multiplayer on PS4 or PS5, you likely have a PlayStation Plus subscription, which is also handy for cloud saves. PlayStation Plus Essential is the cheapest of three tiers but only includes a handful of manually added games each month (yours to play as long as you’re a PS+ subscriber). For a price hike, PlayStation Plus Extra grants access to an on-demand library of close to 500 PS4 and PS5 games to download and play. This catalogue extends beyond Sony exclusives and includes games from other publishers, most notably a range of Ubisoft+ Classics. You can pay even more for PlayStation Plus Deluxe but that’s really only if you’re craving older PlayStation games and game trials.

As you may have guessed, my favourite game subscription is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, so consider that a worthy alternative or Nintendo Switch Online if you’re a Switch player.

With thousands of options available, it can be tricky to find a good mobile game that isn’t hounding you with ads or ambushing you with microtransactions. That’s where Apple Arcade steps in. While it’s limited to the Apple ecosystem of devices (like iPhones), if you have one of those in your home and like mobile gaming, it’s well worth considering. Bonus points if you’re an Apple household as you can use Family Sharing so up to five other people can enjoy your subscription, too. Apple Arcade’s been around since 2019, which means its library has grown a lot since launch with an impressive selection of exclusives and classics to play today.

If you don’t have any Apple devices in your home, consider a Google Play Pass to access 1,000+ ad/microtransaction-free games and apps on Android devices (at a cheaper $7.99 monthly fee).

Even with the failure of Stadia, cloud gaming isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. While our main pick is Xbox Cloud Gaming (part of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription), consider GeForce Now the next best thing. GeForce Now is a multiplatform game-streaming service that’s well worth trying before you buy. The big disclaimer is you need to own a compatible game to stream it. Thankfully, there’s a 30-minute trial to see if this service is for you. Assuming you have fast enough internet and a good NBN-compatible modem, GeForce Now can offer high-resolution gaming that feels surprisingly responsive. The big catch is the pricing tiers, the cheaper of which offer lower queue priority and time-limited sessions. If you want to go all out, it costs $29.99 per month for 4K streaming at up to 60fps, assuming you have a monitor that’d support that resolution and frame rate (and not the gaming rig to accompany it).

For cheaper cloud gaming, use Xbox Cloud Gaming via an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription or, to play your own games, try Parsec for free.

Amazon Prime really is the gift that keeps on giving. For shoppers, it means free two-day delivery for thousands of items. Then there’s Prime Video, Prime Music and Prime Reading Perks. For the gamers, an Amazon Prime subscription also includes a Twitch Prime subscription for your favourite game streamer, plus games as part of Prime Gaming. Like Epic Games, you have to manually add the included games to your account while they’re available. But once you do, you can download and play them whenever you like. Admittedly, there are a lot of unknown games to pad out the catalogue but there are great older games and indie titles to choose from often enough that it’s yet another Prime perk that’s worth taking advantage of.

Alternatively, if you have a Netflix subscription, there are 50+ mobile games for Android and iOS devices as part of your monthly payment.

The most important initial consideration for a game subscription is which supported platforms you have access to. Epic Games may offer free games but that won’t help you if you don’t have a PC or Mac to play them on. That said, services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate may have “Xbox” in the name but can also be played on other platforms. The same is true of game subscriptions like EA Play and Ubisoft Plus.

Pick the gaming subscription that you’re most likely to use. Note that services like PlayStation Plus have different tiers, so you don’t always need to pay for the priciest one if you’re not using the features. If you like a service, consider paying for a multi-month or yearly subscription (where available) for better value.

A massive library size may seem like an attractive proposition, but it’s more practical to focus on a game subscription with games that you actually want to play. After all, with so many streaming services around, there’s no point adding another monthly subscription that isn’t used.