The price of Skyrim Anniversary Edition was finally revealed to be $49.99, which is less than many worried it would be, and it's also below the normal price point of AAA titles. There's a lot of new content to justify this price for the hardcore Skyrim fans interested, though others might instead choose to stick with their older copies of the game or simply modding their PC versions.
Unfortunately, Skyrim Anniversary Edition won't be free on Xbox Game Pass along with the handful of Bethesda titles on the service, despite the publisher being bought out by Microsoft. This is certainly disappointing to many as they were likely expecting Xbox to bring the enhanced version alongside its other Elder Scrolls and Bethesda games, including Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 3, 4, Doom, and so on. Still, if players want to avoid paying the full price of $49.99, there is a workaround that will help many players on PC and Xbox get access to Skyrim Anniversary Edition for a lowered price.
How to Get a Discount If You Don't Already Have Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass is a live subscription service that allows players to access a massive number of titles, not only Xbox exclusives, but big and small games from other developers and publishers as well. Xbox continuously rotates about 4 to 6 games in and out monthly, with many third-party titles staying for a few months or even a year. It also allows players to get access to many titles Day One, or the day it launches, such as the recent indie game Unpacking and the highly anticipated Halo Infinite will be added when it releases on December 8. As for Microsoft-owned development studios like Bethesda and Obsidian, those titles are likely here to stay for good.
Currently, players can get Xbox Game Pass on PC, which has many of the same games including Bethesda titles and Skyrim, for $1 for the first 3 months. Additionally, this massive deal seems to be going on indefinitely, meaning that on Skyrim Anniversary Edition's launch day, they can get access to Skyrim for a dollar—nearly free—for a few months, but would simply have to pay the $19.99 upgrade fee for the Anniversary Edition enhancements like the coveted fishing mechanic. For Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S users, they can pick up the same deal, but at $1 for one month rather than three, if they pick up Game Pass Ultimate instead.
While it's not as great as being able to get all of Skyrim Anniversary Edition and its Creation Club content with the Xbox subscription service, it's still better than paying $49.99 for folks who don't already own the game or have Game Pass. And it's not permanent, but it's still a useful workaround for frugal consumers. Alternatively, if players aren't interested in the Creation Club content, they'll get access to the next-gen upgrades for free with Skyrim Special Edition provided through Game Pass.
Of course, this doesn't include current subscribers of Xbox Game Pass, who would still need to pay the $19.99 upgrade price, but it still ends up being cheaper than purchasing Skyrim Anniversary Edition on its own. The same price would work out for the PC subscribers taking advantage of the discount, who could then either play Skyrim and Game Pass's massive database of games for $9.99 per month or purchase the base game for $31.99 to own for good on PC.
Unfortunately for folks who primarily play on PlayStation consoles, they'll need to already own Skyrim Special Edition if they want to upgrade to Anniversary Edition for $19.99; otherwise it might benefit folks to simply buy the separate version of Anniversary Edition when it launches if they don't already own the game.
Skyrim Anniversary Edition launches on November 11, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.