Steam Vs Game Pass?

Steam Vs Game Pass

  • Steam

    Votes: 48 47.5%

  • Game Pass

    Votes: 11 10.9%

  • Wait + Steam Sale

    Votes: 42 41.6%
  • Total voters
    101
TrebleShot

TrebleShot

Member
Alright Everyone,
Interested in peoples opinions on this one.

Game Pass PC is £13.50 p/m in the UK and you can get it on key sites for £23 for 3 months which as youd imagine is a interesting proposition. Recently a few games have launched that I wouldnt mind trying/playing such as Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4 and Outer Worlds 2.

Now these games arent ones I would typically buy or at least buy at full price each one is fairly expensive as well know and they are on Steam and the key sites are sold out of each key.

I like having all my games in one library and having them in an easy to access place like steam but I dont really want to spend X amount on a game I may not enjoy or even finish so was eyeing up GP PC obviously the value is there but using the xbox app and having it all contained in a service is a bit shitty. Like for instance If I play them in the three months then they release a nice update for each game your game save is often locked to GP.

The other option is waiting for a sale in steam and just riding it out, alot of these titles will be on sale there in the winter sale or jan sale but they will likely be something like 10 or 20 percent off.

Maybe the saves would transfer so the answer is Game Pass PC, then if you love it, buy it on steam and transfer the save over?

Let me know if you have some sort of way of doing this yourselves?
 
Wait for Steam sales and/or check on key sites for the best deals.
Buying games at launch is usually a bad idea, as this is the time when games have the most bugs, the less content and the highest price.

gg.deals

PC Games on Sale 🎮 PC Game Discounts

Check PC game prices from over 50 stores in one place! You'll easily find the best Steam deals and offers from other DRMs.
gg.deals gg.deals

Gamepass used to be a good deal. But with constant price increases, with the Xbox app being the pile of crap that it is, and losing all games as soon as you stop paying for GP, it's not best way to game on PC.
 
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Steam is no contest. No monthly commitments, great discounts, long term support.

Also thanks to Games For Windows Live and Windows Phone, I will never ever trust Microsoft when it comes to digital purchases from their stores.
 
I'm not often buying things on Steam since I'm console user, but even so 100% Steam.
Not a single time their support didn't dissapointed me. Every problem or refund I asked they helped me. Best of all, their sales are usually pretty good.
 
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Steam and wait for a sale. I've purchased exactly three games on release this year:
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
  • Oblivion Remastered
  • The Outer Worlds 2

Everything else I bought later at a discount. Hell, you can even get a discount on day one if you buy from key sites.
 
Never paid for Game Pass. If a game is featured on GP I often wait till it's heavily discounted and get it on Steam.
I'm not in a hurry, there's plenty of fish in the sea. My backlog is measured in 1000s.
 
winjer said:
Wait for Steam sales and/or check on key sites for the best deals.
Buying games at launch is usually a bad idea, as this is the time when games have the most bugs, the less content and the highest price.

gg.deals

PC Games on Sale 🎮 PC Game Discounts

Check PC game prices from over 50 stores in one place! You'll easily find the best Steam deals and offers from other DRMs.
gg.deals gg.deals

Gamepass used to be a good deal. With with constant price increases, with the Xbox app being the pile of crap that it is, and losing all games as soon as you stop paying for GP, it's not best way to game on PC.
Click to expand...

Such a good point, I hate having things tied to a service, but I will say, I have kind of changed my habits a bit. For instance own loads of games on steam and I dip in and out of each I dont really play any for extended periods of time. I guess i just finish stuff and move on?

Saber said:
I'm not often buy things on Steam since I'm console user, but even so 100% Steam.
Not a single time their support didn't dissapointed me. Every problem or refund I asked they helped me. Best of all, their sales are usually pretty good.
Click to expand...

100% the sales are nuts but ive seen a big tail off recently since more people are going to steam.

MidGenRefresh said:
Steam and wait for a sale. I've purchased exactly three games on release this year:
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
  • Oblivion Remastered
  • The Outer Worlds 2

Everything else I bought later at a discount. Hell, you can even get a discount on day one if you buy from key sites.
Click to expand...

I like the patient approach, I am definitely getting more like that in my older age I am starting to wait a bit for some games, Ive been burnt too many times with things like yotei, I would have much rather got it cheaper and felt less guilty for dropping it so early on.
 
winjer said:
Wait for Steam sales and/or check on key sites for the best deals.
Buying games at launch is usually a bad idea, as this is the time when games have the most bugs, the less content and the highest price.

gg.deals

PC Games on Sale 🎮 PC Game Discounts

Check PC game prices from over 50 stores in one place! You'll easily find the best Steam deals and offers from other DRMs.
gg.deals gg.deals

Gamepass used to be a good deal. But with constant price increases, with the Xbox app being the pile of crap that it is, and losing all games as soon as you stop paying for GP, it's not best way to game on PC.
Click to expand...

100% this.

You can get the game for steam and have it be on sale from day one in most cases if you use gg.deals or isthereanydeal.
 
Am playing the games on gamepass, but usually waiting for sales to own them is a good idea.

Unless you are perpetually subscribed to gamepass and will always have access to those games.
 
I use the best of both. Because why not. I mean, for my kids, trying out games with GP is perfect, it reduces nagging, and they feel no need to keep the games they finished anyway. Then usually I buy most of the games I plan to keep on Steam, except in a few cases. I have games on ALL launchers though, I'm pretty platform agnostic that way.
 
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My ocd with game pass is yes you do get a certain amount of games for a sub. But unless its first party, the game is going away. I could never get quite square with the dlc situtaion. Do I buy dlc for a game that is going away because I don't own the base game?Am I supposed to feel that the dlc is a bargain because I saved on the base game?

I get that third parties must charge for the dlc, but Microsoft should include all dlc on 1st party at least. And now they are taking away the discount on that dlc.

Also, there is too much at once for things that will disappear. If you play rpg's you are going to miss most of what is offer before it disappears.

I would rather buy the game on Steam even if never get to it. At least I know it's always there for me.

I suppose if you don't feel you are running a rat race to finish one game to get to the next and have a more casual mindset that if a game goes away that's fine then I can see it being a good deal. But not with how they are raising prices currently.
 
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Sorcerer said:
My ocd with game pass is yes you do get a certain amount of games for a sub. But unless its first party, the game is going away. I could never get quite square with the dlc situtaion. Do I buy dlc for a game that is going away because I don't own the base game?Am I supposed to feel that the dlc is a bargain because I saved on the base game?

I get that third parties must charge for the dlc. but Microsoft should include all DLC on 1st party at least. And now they are taking away the discount on that dlc.

Also, there is too much at once for things that will disappear. If you play rpg's you are going to miss most of what is offer before it disappears.

I would rather buy the game on Steam even if never get to it. At least I know it's always there for me.

I suppose if you don't want to feel you are running a rat race to finish one game to get to the next and have a more casual mindset that if a game goes away that's fine then I can see it being a good deal. But not with how they are rasing prices currently.
Click to expand...
I think this is how I felt about it all the time.
Its super temporary for third party stuff, unless you plan on being on there for years or that is where you play forever its hard to invest in it. But then again, how often will you go back to an old game and realise its not there
?
 
Entire Starcraft 2 and its campaign is "FREE" on Gamepass, but I rather buy the pricy BattleNet version which I could own.

Gamepass would never make sense for me personally.
 
With what is going on right now I would advise to playing the games you enjoy now and picking up the titles you want from a key site for steam when they are at a price you are willing to pay.

That's my current approach. But, using gamepass for a month or so might be a good shout if you don't think you'll play the games again. I'm not sure what works best for your gaming habits and time.
 
Steam isn't the cheapest now, that's true but then again i use to use Steamspy from within Steam 10+ years ago to find the cheapest prices on other sites on PC games, we all did,

So wait and sale for me and GOG, i don't buy much from Steam sales either these days although i have a big library anyway, i don't want a subscription when i don't play 1 or more new games a month, i spend hours and hours in a few SP open world modded games also and would rarther own my games than rent.
 
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I used to subscribe to GamePass Ultimate for, I think, it was £11.99 per month in the UK until I cancelled it last year in May 2024.

I have a lot of drives on my PC as I have a very large "on tap" installed games library across multiple internal and external drives. I found that installed games from the Xbox app and Microsoft Store would sometimes break the games, causing them not to even load, or even fail to update (with that typically vague "Something went wrong. Try again later." message that Microsoft loves to use). The verify option never worked - unlike Steam, it completes in seconds so is clearly not verifiying individual files - so I was forced to have to uninstall and redownload the games, which could be a pain when it was 100+ GB in size (e.g. Gears of War 4 and 5).

Because of this and the fact that I just did not find much value in GamePass itself - most of the back catalogue I'd already played and there weren't that many new games to justify the monthly cost - I decided to cancel and just buy the few Xbox games I want on Steam. I even bought a number of problematic Xbox games that I had played on GamePass on Steam (High On Life, Hi-Fi Rush, etc) and, as expected, these worked perfectly and updated fine. I can only assume that the overzealous encryption that Microsoft use is what was responsible for the issues I had but, whatever, I am just not a fan of the Xbox app or Microsoft Store on Windows 11. Neither match the convenience and reliability of Steam.

Steam all the way as far as I am concerned. The Xbox app sucks on PC and you have to use that to use GamePass (unfortunately).
 
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Steam has subscription services for it if you want to compare apples to apples... ok... apples to nectarines , but still.

Eg. Humble vs GamePass.
Price is relatively close (10-15ish per month), Humble keys are perpetual and can be traded if you don't want them, has fewer AAA offerings but better curation of other stuff.
I've been subbed to both for past 3-4 years and consistently play less stuff from GP. Though in fairness - I play like... <5% of either of them, so it's debatable if either of them is even remotely good value for me - but that's an aside.
 
You should have Steam no matter what. It's the place to be.
But even with Steam your going to be opening other stuff to play games, Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar are all going to be icons on your PC OS no matter what.

PC Gamepass used to be a no brainer, but since the price increase recently I'm starting to have second thoughts. However they keep putting up big games and small games.
I need to finish, Clair Obscur, Hogwarts, And Today The Outer Worlds 2 unlocks. Got stuck playing Halls of Torment last night.
 
I have been Game Pass + Steam in the past but went back to Steam + wait for sale a few months ago. I will probably hit up GP on a month that has a few games I want to play. At least until they end/bump the price of PC GP.
 
MarV0 said:
This is a terrible mindset and once you escape it you'll be free.

Every game on PC is one click away regardless of where you bought it.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with the mindset. The only issue with it is that it isn't always efficient. Meaning that it could cost more to get something on Steam instead of somewhere else. But for some people, the extra cost is made up for by ease of use. I'm not going to buy anything from the Ubisoft store, or the EA store, or Epic Games Store. Release the game on Steam, and I will buy it if I want to play it. That's a personal preference, and I'm happy with it.
 
Gamepass. Why would you spend more to own games that you are highly unlikely to ever play again? Even if they release some update and you want to keep playing it would still be cheaper to just resubscribe for a month.
 
poppabk said:
Gamepass. Why would you spend more to own games that you are highly unlikely to ever play again? Even if they release some update and you want to keep playing it would still be cheaper to just resubscribe for a month.
Click to expand...
If you can afford it get PC Gamepass, It's the cheapest version and at least check it out for a few months, If you like a game and want to keep it, Head over to Steam when it's on sale.
 
Depends, in the past I was heavily involved with GP, now sincerely I'm moving away from it, not because of the price increase but because I'm not so good to manage my fomo, so I tend to try and install everything without really focusing on it. It's way easier to keep focus by buying just the games you really want to play, and also steam is a vastly superior client.
I'm also considering buying a deck/handheld and having everything steam-centered is easier.
 
MarV0 said:
This is a terrible mindset and once you escape it you'll be free.

Every game on PC is one click away regardless of where you bought it.
Click to expand...

Yeh, you'll be free to expose yourself to poor/worse experiences.

If that's what you want then go for it.
 
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There is also the issue, that games on Gamepass PC, frequently have issues with mods. Sometimes, even tweaks such as editing a config file.
Sometimes fail to support DLSS4 and FSR4, because they don't allow proper injection.
Frequently have lower performance, sometimes with serious stutters.
They can cause problems with overlays.
Don't support exclusive Fullscreen.
And the Xbox app has so many bugs....
 
winjer said:
Wait for Steam sales and/or check on key sites for the best deals.
Buying games at launch is usually a bad idea, as this is the time when games have the most bugs, the less content and the highest price.

gg.deals

PC Games on Sale 🎮 PC Game Discounts

Check PC game prices from over 50 stores in one place! You'll easily find the best Steam deals and offers from other DRMs.
gg.deals gg.deals

Gamepass used to be a good deal. But with constant price increases, with the Xbox app being the pile of crap that it is, and losing all games as soon as you stop paying for GP, it's not best way to game on PC.
Click to expand...
I do not buy games without checking GG Deals. Never. Ever
 
I get Game Pass for a couple of months here and there but I probably won't do it again. In a sense it is a good deal, but I really don't like gaming as a subscription service. Games leaving the library, being dependent on monthly payments or it's all gone. I guess I like many am a games hoarder, but I really love the fact that I own a games collection. Own in a loose sense there. But as long as I live I can go back to that game I bought way back.

In a way Game Pass devalues games for me. It is not completely rational, games are games, but I don't just play a couple of hours of each game and then on to the next one. It is as if they are all just demos I don't invest time in if I don't "own" them. I never seem to finish games on Game Pass.

Also it doesn't easily work natively on Steam Deck. Super cool that some nice indie like Nine Sols is on game pass, but I really prefer that sort of game handheld natively.

Also, as mentioned above, issues with mods, HDR / fake HDR, Nvidia Overlay and so on.
 
Wheres the option for GOG? Also who are the seven people who clicked Game Pass?

Remember. Buying on steam is not ownership, buying on GOG is. The other way to have complete ownership is to buy a Playstation or Switch physical copy of single player games which does not need day one patch to play (almost all Sony and Nintendo first part and Rockstar releases).
 
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I like GamePass, but primarily game through Steam. I've bought games on Steam that I first played on GamePass, like Lies of P and Expedition 33. Alternatively, GamePass has saved me from paying full price for games like Starfield.
 
Steam: No monthly payments, discounts all of the time, amazing refund policy on everything, demos all the time, awesome community support.

This is the way. Nothing comes close.

Don't like a game within the first 2 hours? Fucking refund it. Boom.

Wishlist something and Steam will tell you the moment it is on sale with an email.

Have a question about a game? Check the community hub for a guide or the forums. Might even get an answer from the dev.
 
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I mean, Gamepass is basically a rental service.
It can make sense for shorter games like Ninja Gaiden 4 or Doom the Dark Ages which most people here will realistically be able to beat in a month.
But for a longer game like an RPG or a multiplayer game where I'll have to stay subscribed for multiple months I'd much rather get it on steam, those are also games I like to play at my own pace without feeling like I need to hurry as to not have to stay subscribed for another month.
 
I'll pick and choose. Since I have Game Pass with rewards then I'll use that for games that are on the service. But that option is going away next year due to the price hikes. Whether or not I buy a game or play on Game Pass from that point depends on the game. If it is something I'll play once and never again then subbing PC Game Pass for a month is fine. Same as I did for AC Shadows and Ubisoft+.

Great thing about PC is all the options. I'm not going to limit them.
 
I don't have enough time to game for extensive period of time, so it's mostly indies on Steam nowadays, with key sites I rarely pay more than 10€ per game.
 
I can't stress this enough, i'm repeating myself like a bot here. But since i moved to PC gaming early this year i'm playing more and paying less, and reeeeally cool stuff too not available on console. And since i'm almost technologically impaired (exaggerated) i always feared that i would encounter multiple trouble shooting situations with drivers, updates and controller compatibilitys issues. BUT NO, nothing like that. Couldn't be easier, one click add the game to the cart other click to buy, another to download choose the hardrive, finally another one to play the game. Zero issues. I bought an "old" used rig:

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
AIO Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280
MOBO MSI MEG X570 UNIFY
RAM 32GB (4x8) DDR4 Patriot 3800 CL14 (Samsung b-die)
VGA EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING
PSU Seasonic Focus 850W Gold
CASE Lial Li Lancool II Mesh
NVME Samsung 970 EVO 512GB
SSD Patriot P200 2TB
 
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If I'm unsure about a game and it's on Gamepass, I'll test it out there, then if I like it, I will buy it on Steam.

I'd probably utilize Gamepass more, but Gamepass versions of games don't always play nice with Mods, and while I don't use a lot of mods, I always want the option to do so if needed
 
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