Target has heavily discounted Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a limited time on its online store. Those interested can currently save $15 on a 3-month code, bringing its price down from $49.99 to $34.99. 1-month codes are also discounted, and down to just $11.89. Target's price drop is a bigger discount than the previous best offer at Woot, and the lowest price Game Pass Ultimate has been for a while.
Discounts on Game Pass can be fairly inconsistent, and not even the biggest shopping events like Prime Day or Black Friday can guarantee great offers on Xbox's flagship subscription service. While there's still an air of trepidation surrounding Game Pass, big discounts like this are increasingly notable considering more price hikes are rumored for later this year.
Game Pass has gotten some heat since Microsoft decided to close studios like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Larger third-party developers, for instance, have also complained that Game Pass cannibalizes retail sales -- concerns that Microsoft admitted last year were founded. It's something to consider when purchasing even more time on the service. That being said, Game Pass is still one of the better deals in gaming, so if you use it often, this deal could be a good opportunity to stack up some membership time at a discount.
The max you can stack Game Pass is three years (36 months). Buying 12 of these 3-month codes totals $418.88--arguably a lot. However, when you compare it to the MSRP cost of Game Pass Ultimate (36 x $16.99/month) it amounts to $611.64. So you're saving $192.76 on your subscription for the next three years if you invest now, and potentially even more if that price hike comes to fruition.
According to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft will also soon announce its intention to release this year’s mainline Call of Duty game straight into Game Pass. WSJ reports that Microsoft will announce the plans during its Xbox showcase event in June.
"Microsoft plans a major shakeup of its video game sales strategy by releasing the coming installment of Call of Duty to its subscription service instead of the longtime, lucrative approach of only selling it a la carte,” WSJ reported. Microsoft declined to comment when contacted by the publication.
If you want to see more discounts for specific platforms, you can also check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals today, the best Nintendo Switch deals today, and the best PC video game deals today.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
