Written by 
The following content is brought to you by PCMag partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. Deal pricing and availability are subject to change after the time of publication.
Holiday shopping can be brutal, especially when you’ve got a squad of gamers with tastes all over the place. Have you seen the price of a single game lately? And that doesn’t even guarantee it’ll be fun.
This year, I’ve got a foolproof plan: I’m getting everyone the same thing—an Xbox Game Pass Core 12-month membership. It’s cheaper than a single game, lets all my friends play online, and it comes with some other pretty solid perks. If you want to take advantage of the same sale, a Game Pass Core 12-Month Membership is still $76.53 (reg. $90.32)
What you’re getting
Back in the day, Xbox Game Pass Core was called Xbox Live Gold, but there have been some improvements along with the name change. You can still play online, but now you also get access to a library of 25 games. One of my friends only has one game, so this is a great way of expanding his library, and the selection is fantastic. Here’s a few:
- PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition
- Celeste
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Dishonored 2
- DOOM Eternal Standard Edition
- Fable Anniversary
- Fallout 4
- Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition
If any of my buddies want to grow their little libraries, they can also use their membership to get up to 50% off select games, and they aren’t limited to one console. You can use Game Pass Core on everything from Xbox consoles to the Xbox Cloud, Steam Deck, and even Samsung Smart TVs.
If you want to copy my idea and get all your gift shopping done in one go, you can still get an Xbox Game Pass Core 12-Month Membership for $76.53. That’s the best price online, too.
StackSocial prices subject to change.