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Steam vs Xbox Game Pass

S

Steam

Software

The ultimate destination for playing, discussing, and creating games

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
X

Xbox Game Pass

Software

Play together with friends, new games and classic favorites

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Steam publishing a game requires developers to pay a non-refundable $100 Steam Direct fee per title, recouped only once the product earns $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue; Xbox Game Pass day-one access to new Xbox-published games is only included on the Ultimate tier, not on Essential or Premium

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Steam and Xbox Game Pass actually diverge.

Attributes where Steam and Xbox Game Pass differ
AttributeSteamXbox Game Pass

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Steam

  • Publishing a game requires developers to pay a non-refundable $100 Steam Direct fee per title, recouped only once the product earns $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue
  • Core purchases and library are tied to a single Steam account with no vendor-stated official resale or transfer mechanism for owned games

Xbox Game Pass

  • Day-one access to new Xbox-published games is only included on the Ultimate tier, not on Essential or Premium
  • Cloud gaming quality is explicitly tiered, with the vendor stating Premium gets improved cloud quality and only Ultimate gets premium cloud gaming

Pricing, plan by plan

Steam

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Steam review.

Xbox Game Pass

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Xbox Game Pass review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Steam if

Nothing in the data separates Steam from Xbox Game Pass on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Steam review

Choose Xbox Game Pass if

Nothing in the data separates Xbox Game Pass from Steam on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Xbox Game Pass review

Questions people ask

Is Steam or Xbox Game Pass better?
Neither clearly leads. Steam starts at On request and Xbox Game Pass at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Steam or Xbox Game Pass?
Steam starts at On request and Xbox Game Pass at On request.
Does Steam or Xbox Game Pass run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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Related pages

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More on Xbox Game Pass

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