Xbox has stealthily added a new way for console players on Game Pass to earn Microsoft Reward points. The weekly console bonus will allow diligent gamers to accrue up to 500 extra points, depending on which tier of the service they’re subscribed to.
As spotted over on Reddit, playing on your Xbox four days each week will yield 250 points for those subbed to the basic Game Pass tiers, rising to 500 for those on Ultimate. Some have reported the feature is currently absent from their systems, indicating that this could be a more gradual rollout. Nonetheless, any chance to earn Microsoft Rewards quicker is a massive win in our book.
While it’s easy to forget about Rewards, it’s a fabulous way to gradually accumulate extra goodies over time by simply playing the best Xbox games. For 14,000 points you can grab an extra month of Game Pass Ultimate. Yes, that amounts to 28 weeks of cashing in the weekly bonus alone, but by the time you rifle through the dailies, as well as all the extra Game Pass Quests, it really won’t take that long at all.
By this writer’s calculations based on the current rotation of earnable points in the app, you can rack up just over 4,000 points each month factoring in the weeklies – almost twice as many points as you could earn before. This means you’ll be, on average, getting a free month of Ultimate every four months, should you wish to cash them in that way.
Of course, Game Pass isn’t the only thing earnable through Microsoft Rewards. Gift cards for everything from major retailers to restaurants can also be acquired. You can even trade them in for digital currency in some of the best games like Diablo 4, or Xbox exclusives like Sea of Thieves – though it looks like that may be setting sail for PS5 at some point.
If you’re looking for great games to help you max out your points potential, be sure to check out our list of the best Xbox Game Pass games. If you’re looking for a single title that’s going to keep you busy for four days or more at a time, then our best RPG games and best open world games guides have you covered.