jebmo’s posthaven

If you don’t already own an Xbox One, Microsoft is making a bold and aggressive move to get you on board with its new Xbox All Access financing plan. The publisher confirmed the All Access program in a blog post today. For 24 monthly payments, Microsoft will give you an Xbox One X or Xbox One S along with Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass for less than you would pay if you purchase and subscribed all of those products separately.

“For no upfront cost and one low monthly price for 24 months, Xbox All Access gets you a new Xbox One S or Xbox One X, access to more than 100 great games through Xbox Game Pass, and online multiplayer with Xbox Live Gold,” Xbox product marketing boss Bogdan Bilan said. “That’s more than 100 all-you-can-play games — including highly-anticipated new Xbox One exclusives the day they’re released, plus more games added all the time on  the fastest, most reliable gaming network and an Xbox One console.”

The Xbox One S plan starts at $22 per month, and the Xbox One X plan starts at $35. This is not a leasing program. Instead, it works a lot like how we purchase smartphones from T-Mobile or other major carriers. That monthly payment covers the cost of the Xbox One, which belongs to you. And then the rest of the money pays for the services.

But unlike those phone plans, Xbox All Access is actually less expensive than purchasing an Xbox One outright and then subscribing to Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass for two years.

Above: Microsoft’s Xbox press event at E3 2018.

Image Credit: Microsoft

The Xbox One S plan in particular is shockingly good. Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass are typically $10 each per month, which means that you would end up paying $2 per month for the next two years to own an Xbox One S. Hell, I pay $2 a month so Gmail will let me keep getting emails. Microsoft says that this plan is a $130 savings, but I like to think that it’s paying $48 for an Xbox One S.

At $35, the Xbox One X plan is a bit more in line with retail pricing, but it’s still an awesome deal. Again, if you figure that Gold and Game Pass are $20 per month, you end up paying only $360 for an Xbox One X. Microsoft’s powerful 4K console usually sells for $500.

This deal also works with any Xbox One hardware or bundle, which makes it an even better deal.

So what’s the catch? Well, if you want out of the deal before the 24 months are up, you’ll have to pay the remaining cost of the hardware. But that’s not much of a catch.

The reason that Microsoft can do this is because it’ll get more people into its ecosystem, and it has also found that people who subscribe to Game Pass are playing and even purchasing more games. The reason for that is because they are online more often and they see deals or they see their friends enjoying something and end up buying it as well.

All Access could serve as a smart way to serve something like the Fortnite audience. People are potentially getting into that game on their smartphone or Switch, and this plan will give them a way to play in 4K on their TVs while also getting access to a huge number of other games through Game Pass.

Finally, Microsoft does note that this is a “limited-time offer,” and it’s only for “qualified customers.” But for those of you who haven’t filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, Microsoft wants to give you an easy and affordable way to get an Xbox One X along with dozens of games.