Xbox Game Pass is the best gaming service for parents out there. Sure, it’s nice to be able to let my kids engage with games from my own childhood like Super Mario World and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, but Nintendo Switch Online’s games for kids just don’t have the same amount of variety – or rotating, expanding stock – Game Pass offers. From Paw Patrol World to Lil’ Gator Game to Banjo-Kazooie, Xbox gives me better free games for kids than any other platform.
Because interacting with video games is both a job and a hobby, my children have been exposed to games their entire life. The PS5 launched shortly after my son was born, which meant that Astro’s Playroom was the second game he ever played himself (Dark Souls was first, naturally) and it was the first he ever completed without any adult help. Astro’s Playroom was the best game to get him familiar with how controllers work and the different ways they can be used (and it is proving to be much the same story with my youngest daughter two years later) but the PS5’s game selection, despite how long it’s been since launch, is still rather bare. It’s also expensive.
I Can Get More Kids Games On Xbox Game Pass For Less Money
Because of work (and because it’s a great deal) I subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, which means I pay something around $16.99 a month to turn on my Xbox and imagine I am looking at a library of “free” games I can download at any time. I know they aren’t actually free – that’s what the $16.99 is for – but considering that’s roughly the price renting the same game for three weekends was in a row back in 1997, and we’ll be playing whatever we download from Game Pass for about that same amount of time over the next month, it’s worth it to me. It’s easier and cheaper to play more games for kids on Xbox than it is on PlayStation.
I’m aware this is coming off like I’ve been paid by Microsoft or something. I swear that’s not the case – although, Microsoft, if you are listening, I’ll take a sponsorship deal, hit me up – it’s just how I honestly feel about it. Being a parent, especially a parent of three, is expensive already. Games are expensive. When you want to play games with your kids and your kids might not want to, might not be able to, or might not necessarily be old enough to play the same titles you want to play, you need to find the best alternate option. For me, looking for kids games on Game Pass is the solution.
Xbox Has Lots of Different Types of Games for Kids
Just right now, I have Banjo-Kazooie, Lil’ Gator Game, Minecraft, Psychonauts 2, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge downloaded on my Xbox Series S for the kids to play. There were even more on here just recently – the aforementioned Paw Patrol World, Unpacking, Battle for Bikini Bottom, New Super Lucky’s Tale, even the Bluey video game, which, wow, boy am I glad I didn’t pay retail price for that. I’m also saving a bit of space for when Little Kitty, Big City launches on May 9th.
There’s a trick here which I had to learn over time. To the kids, this feels like they have infinite games, a very different feeling than the one I had as a child and one which gives them the mentality that all games can just be simply downloaded for free without any hassle. When something they want is coming out on a different console and I say “We’re not spending money on games right now,” that might be confusing to them, since it seems like in all the other cases it was fine. Not downloading too many Game Pass games for your kids at once is one way to help this, and another is simply sitting down and discussing with them the logistics of how it all works. Directions, solutions, and mileage will vary with children. My son definitely went through a “Can I have new games every day” period that I didn’t anticipate, but I should have.
With that being said, and if used with the proper parental caution in mind, Xbox Game Pass is the best deal for parents who want their children to have access to a wide variety of games. Sure, PS+ is fine, and NSO grabs your attention in a way only nostalgia can, but the kids games on Xbox just have more variety – especially as the kids grow older and want to start playing more Day One, modern titles. If you can think of a better video game subscription service for parents, please let me know in the comments, because I sure can’t. Just remember I’m cheap, so I want the best deal possible.
Looking for gift ideas for kids who love gaming? Check out our breakdown of these adorable new Pokémon Squishmallows of Marill & Dragonite!
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