Xbox All Access official: Two-year contract for console, Game Pass, and Xbox Live

Last week, we heard a rumor that Microsoft was plotting a new subscription plan that would offer an Xbox One console along with 24 months of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold for a monthly fee. Today, Microsoft confirmed those rumors, officially announcing Xbox All Access. Essentially, this is a way to get an Xbox One without paying hundreds of dollars all at once.

Xbox All Access is more of a way to finance an Xbox One than it is a subscription. With it, you'll get the cost of an Xbox One console and 24-month subscriptions to both Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold split up over the course of two years. Once you're done with your payments, you own the Xbox, so you don't have to return it to Microsoft or anything like that.

Xbox All Access is available for the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S, so you have a bit of choice as far as the console is concerned. For Xbox One S, you'll pay $22 per month, while the Xbox One X bundle will cost $35 per month. Financing is carried out through Dell Preferred, with 0% APR and no upfront cost.

For someone looking to pick up an Xbox One without having to pay the cost for all of this stuff upfront, this might be a good option. Microsoft says that you'll get a discount by going this route (at least on the Xbox One S), but the trade-off, of course, is that you have to make a two-year commitment to pay it off. All 1TB Xbox One X or Xbox One S consoles are eligible for All Access, so it sounds like you'll have your choice of console bundles as well.

The kicker is that you can only sign up for Xbox All Access at one of Microsoft's retail stores here in the US. Microsoft doesn't have the biggest retail presence around the country, but if you live near a major metropolitan area, you've probably got a store nearby. The company says that Xbox All Access will only be available to "qualified customers" for a limited time, but it didn't say when this promotion might end.

SOURCE: Microsoft