How to pause Xbox Game Pass

One of the hallmarks of the Xbox ecosystem is Xbox Game Pass. For a monthly fee, gamers get access to more than 100 titles, ranging from seminal classics of yesteryear to the biggest releases of today. Xbox Game Pass may be one of the best deals in gaming, but there may come a time when you need to cancel. Maybe you are taking a gaming break or you’ve played all of the best games on Games Pass. Whatever your reason, the folks at Xbox have made the process fairly painless, as long as you know where to look. 

Here is how to cancel an Xbox Game Pass subscription on Xbox and PC.

Contents

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Internet connection

  • Xbox or PC

Canceling from an Xbox console

Xbox has changed the process for canceling subscriptions several times over the life of its consoles, but it seems to have settled on a pretty simple system going forward. If you are primarily a console user, then follow these steps to end your Xbox Game Pass subscription. 

Step 1: Open the Guide menu by pressing the Xbox Guide button at the center of the controller.

Step 2: Select your profile, and then select My account on the window that pops up.  

Selecting My Account from the Guide MenuJustin Koreis/Digital Trends

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Step 3: Chose the Payment and billing option from the right side of the screen. 

Payment and billing menu in Xbox.Justin Koreis/Digital Trends

Step 4: Select Xbox Game Pass.

Step 5: Choose Cancel subscription.

Cancel subscription option in Xbox menu.Justin Koreis/Digital Trends

Step 6: Select Yes to confirm you want your subscription to end.

 Canceling via the web browser 

You can also cancel your subscription from your PC. Open up your favorite web browser, follow these steps, and you will be all set.

Step 1: Navigate your web browser to xbox.com.

A screenshot from the game As Dusk Falls is centered on the homepage of xbox.com

Step 2: Sign in to your profile by clicking Sign in in the top-right corner. 

A small white box calls for a sign in id at the center of an all green background.

Step 3: Click on your Profile picture at the top of the page.

A tab in the upper right corner is highlighted, and the mouse cursor hovers over three dots on one corner of the tab.

Step 4: Click on the Three dots at the bottom right of the pop-up menu and select Subscriptions.

A tab in the upper right corner is open, revealing a link to subscriptions.

Step 5: Find the Xbox Game Pass option and click on Manage.

Subscription and services is in large letters at the top of a text filled screen listing different types of microsoft subscriptions

Step 6: Click on Cancel subscription.

A text box in the chrome web browser, with options to manage game pass.

Step 7: On the pop-up window, confirm that you wish to end recurring billing.

Several boxes of discounted subscriptions sit above the button to cancel gamepass.

After you cancel Xbox Game Pass 

You will still have access to Xbox Game Pass until the current subscription ends. This could be the end of the month or longer if you have paid for multiple months in advance. Xbox does not offer the option to cancel and partially refund for prepaid months, so you will need to ride out however much time you have left. 

Once your subscription lapses, any games that you downloaded via Game Pass will become inaccessible unless you renew your subscription or buy them outright. If at some point in the future you decide to jump back in, then Xbox Game Pass will take you back with open arms, and you can once again play those games and more. 

We've all been battling Elden Ring's vast array of bosses for over a week now, often to no avail. It doesn't help that everything's in real time either, with no standard pause option during battle. Well, as it turns out, there is a way to pause Elden Ring.

YouTuber Iron Pineapple has discovered a way to pause Elden Ring, using the game's 'menu explanation' option in your inventory. Basically, if you're in a bit of a mess, you can quickly pull up your inventory, hit menu explanation, and when that pops up, the game actually pauses in the background.

guess what, Elden Ring DOES have a pause button

just open "Menu Explanation" while on the inventory screen

this isn't a meme, it actually works lmao pic.twitter.com/0tNLFaWwC7
— Iron Pineapple (@IronPineapple_) March 8, 2022

It's a bit finnicky for a pause option, but it's there nonetheless if you're desperate. Mid-fight it might not be the easiest thing to execute, but it's a good option if you're strolling around the Lands Between and have forgotten to make food, or empty your bladder, for instance.

Will this trick help you out during your Elden Ring adventures? Let us know in the comments.

[source twitter.com, via ]

Sveakungen

  • Sveakungen
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

Easier to just pop back to the dashboard!

  • 1

pip_muzz

  • pip_muzz
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

I still don't understand why the Souls games don't have a pause button?! It seems the simplest thing to implement. People can talk about offering different difficulty settings and accessibility options, but having a pause button is something I'd like to think everyone can agree on should definitely be included.

  • 1

Xiovanni

  • Xiovanni
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

I saw someone saying that a lack of a pause button means they can't get up grab a slice of pizza or soda from the fridge.

I think it's excellent Fromsoft has found a way of deterring it's playerbase from unhealthy habits and more devs should be innovating like this.

  • 2

TJ81

  • TJ81
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

@Sveakungen exactly, just press the Xbox button.

  • 0

InterceptorAlpha

  • InterceptorAlpha
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

@pip_muzz What multiplayer games let you pause?

If they want to give you an option to disable all online functionality including summon, signs, and blood pools, etc, that would be a fair trade for a pause.

  • 0

Mince

  • Mince
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

@Xiovanni for everyone they save…another is caused to hold the need to urinate for an unhealthy length of time, not answer phone calls and regress into the void for many many hours!

  • 0

Xiovanni

  • Xiovanni
  • Wed 9th Mar 2022

@Mince Then don't play video games nonstop for unhealthy lengths of time and schedule playtime?

  • 0

lolwhatno

  • lolwhatno
  • Thu 10th Mar 2022

@Xiovanni I thought you were being sarcastic but now I'm not so sure.

  • 0

Mince

  • Mince
  • Thu 10th Mar 2022

@Xiovanni i think you misunderstood, nothing would be unhealthy. I guess you was not being sarcastic?

Can you pause Microsoft game Pass?

You cannot pause the recurring billing. You can turn it off, but gamepass will continue until it expires.

How do I pause my Microsoft subscription?

On the Services & subscriptions page, locate your Microsoft 365 subscription and then select Manage. Do one of the following: If you see a Turn off recurring billing link, choose it to turn recurring billing off. If you see a Cancel link, choose it to cancel the subscription.