Is Game Pass worth it in 2026? Do the arithmetic

Every 'is it worth it' article answers for an imaginary player who plays everything. Here is how to answer it for yourself in about five minutes.

The calculation

List the games you finished or played more than five hours of in the last twelve months. Look up what each one costs today at its cheapest tracked total. Add them up, then subtract the ones you would have bought regardless.

The number that matters is what you would have spent, not what the catalogue is nominally worth.

Where it usually lands

For someone finishing three or four games a year from the catalogue, the subscription is roughly break-even against buying those titles on discount. Below three, buying is cheaper. Above six, the subscription wins comfortably.

The catch is that discounted buying is the correct comparison, not RRP. A publisher quoting the catalogue's full retail value is comparing against a price almost nobody pays.