While we’ve shared some super deals on Xbox Live subscriptions over the past several weeks, they’ve all been for the standard version of the service. But Microsoft’s early Memorial Day sale on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the cheapest yet: just $1 for your first month of service.
For serious Xbox console gamers, Game Pass Ultimate is a no-brainer. While Xbox Live Gold unlocks a lot of necessary features, if you’re a hardcore Xbox gamer, Ultimate just makes a lot of sense to subscribe to.
What is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate? Think of it as an upgrade to the standard Xbox Live Gold membership. Your Gold membership gives you access to multiplayer 0nline gaming, as well as free downloadable games (about 2-4 per month) and discounts on game purchases — up to 75% off in the Xbox Store.
Upgrading to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets you all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold plus some additional benefits. The biggest is access to a sizable downloadable game library — well over 100 in total — which you can play as much as you want with no restrictions. Microsoft also adds games to Ultimate much more frequently and in larger numbers than Gold, and we’d argue better quality games as well.
Another nice feature is the ability to play Xbox console exclusives the day they release. For example, Microsoft released full versions of Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4, State of Decay 2 to Ultimate subscribers — eliminating the need to stand outside your local game shop at midnight.
The discounts are also better: you’ll get 20% off games in the Game Pass library, plus exclusive perks, including in-game add-ons, consumables, and partner offers. After your first month at $1, the service is $15 per month afterward, which is still a great deal for all the benefits you get.
Either way, you’re going to want to hurry with this one. We fully expect this deal to only be available for a limited time, and it will likely be gone after Memorial Day. There are also a lot of other great Memorial Day sales out there, and we’re digging up more every minute — so keep checking back with us for more great deals.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.