Xbox PC Game Pass for C$20 a month doesn’t really add up when you look at the alternatives:

• Epic Games Store gives away two games every week—permanently yours once claimed.
• Amazon Prime Gaming also hands out free games regularly.
• Bundle sites offer collections of games for pocket change.
• Key resellers undercut even those bundle prices.
• And Steam runs massive sales year-round, with discounts that regularly hit 90% off.

All of these options let you keep the games forever, no subscription required.

@atomicpoet nope. Steam sells you a digital licence, not the game itself. Unless they changed it in the last year or two. Really put me off their whole BS

Mx Verda Also, I should bring one further thing up:

Technically, when you buy media, you’re not buying the actual content—you’re buying a license to use it. That includes digital downloads, Steam games, Blu-rays, CDs, all of it. You own the physical disc if there is one, but not the underlying work. Legally, that’s always belonged to the rights holder.

That said, no one’s ever going to show up at your house and demand you hand over your copy of Blade Runner or your Beatles CDs. Once it’s yours, it’s yours to keep, lend, or resell.

And with Steam, you could install your games, switch to offline mode, and keep playing for a long time without ever phoning home. Most single-player titles would work just fine like that. Some DRM-heavy games might eventually break if they rely on third-party servers, and Steam occasionally nudges you to reconnect, but for a big chunk of your library, it’s entirely doable.

@atomicpoet That is legit one of my friend's plans to do once life calms down a bit (which is... when?)

I'll ask them to set one up for me eventually, maybe.