Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for €1: what happens to your remaining time and why you should know it before activating it

The fine print of Ultimate for $1: how your Xbox Game Pass subscription converts and what you can lose.

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The classic claim of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for €1 has been circulating again in recent days, but not everyone is happy after activating it. In the last few hours, several users have started warning of a little-known effect that can play a trick on you if you already had active time on another Game Pass plan.

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The situation has generated a lot of noise in communities like Reddit, where some players claim that they only wanted to try Ultimate for a month and ended up seeing their existing subscription transformed automatically, with an unfavorable conversion.

What really happens when you activate Ultimate for €1

When you redeem the 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for €1 promotion, Microsoft automatically converts the remaining time you have on Game Pass Core/Essential to the Ultimate plan. The problem lies in the current conversion ratio.

According to the Xbox support team, which has confirmed to several users:

• 90 days of Game Pass Essential/Core are converted to only 36 days of Ultimate

• This is equivalent to an approximate 3:1 ratio, far from the old 1:1 that many remember

In other words, if you had several months paid in advance on Essential, activating the offer can cause you to lose a significant part of that time when switching to Ultimate, even if you only wanted to try it for a month.

This behavior is not new, but it has changed over time. The conversion system has been adjusted in recent years (1:1, then 3:2, then 2:3…), and it is currently much less generous than before.

Is it a “trap” or is it warned about?

Here’s the debate. Technically, Xbox does display a warning on the screen before confirming the redemption, explaining that the subscription will be converted. The problem is that many users do not pay attention to the exact ratio or are unaware of how it works today.

So, if you have Game Pass active and see the Ultimate for €1 offer, it’s a good idea to be very clear about this before accepting:

• You cannot have two plans active at the same time

• The remaining time is converted automatically

• The conversion is not favorable if you have a lot of paid time left

The trick only pays off if you start from scratch… or if you know exactly what you’re doing. Otherwise, that “bargain” of €1 can end up costing you much more than expected.