Each of the three main console platforms has its own online services and versions of programs that cater to the players who frequently play games on it. But the one that ends up rewarding players the most is Xbox and its rewards program. Whether you find yourself buying many games for your Xbox Series X and PC, or simply enjoy downloading games to try out through Xbox Game Pass, gaming on Xbox can come with some nice perks. Both PlayStation and Nintendo have yet to find the right formula for balancing the time gamers spend on their services and how to keep them coming back for more. Even though I'm a big fan of all three of them, I find that the Xbox platform is the one that gives players the most for the time they put into playing the games they enjoy.

Getting the most from the rewards that playing games on an Xbox platform can yield is a lot easier than some might believe. I often find myself logging into my Xbox account daily because of it, and not just because I want to get in a quick online match of Call of Duty: Warzone or a few rounds of Balatro. All it takes is a little diligence and clever planning when you play games each week. And the payoff from it over time can be very enticing to anyone who enjoys redeeming goodies from their digital services. Here's how I get rewards by playing on Xbox Game Pass every day, and how you can too.

Getting those daily Logins

The quick and easy point pickups

In order for all of this to work, you definitely need to have your console connected to the internet and an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, even at the core level of the service. Unlike the PlayStation Network and Switch Online, Xbox Game Pass will give players a small amount of Microsoft Rewards points each time they log into their account. You do have to play a game for a short amount of time to get these points when on your console, but the duration needed is around 15 minutes. You don't even need to be actively playing a game for this to trigger your notifications; simply having a game running for that amount of time will suffice, and the reward notification will appear.

I often try to do this earlier in the day when I have time, usually starting up my console and playing a small game like Balatro and even the Doom + Doom II collection. But any game you download through Xbox Game Pass will meet these challenges. It doesn't have to be specific titles that are Xbox first-party or anything else; everything counts. So if you're someone who plays a lot of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer every day, or enjoys Halo Infinite or other single-player games often, you should be redeeming these points just as easily. Some games that are tied to services like EA Play and Ubisoft Plus through Xbox Game Pass may have some trouble triggering these reward points, but nearly every game you play through the service will count for getting them.

This can be redeemed every day you decide to turn on your console and see what's happening on the Xbox service that day. The small number of points is from the group of challenges that Xbox Rewards opens up to players who are online. You can't redeem the same challenges multiple times on the same day; you have to wait until the next day to get the points again for a given challenge. Every day, these challenges refresh and can be completed for more points, which can add up over time.

Building up the bonuses

Multipliers and extra boosts for more

Booting up your console every day and playing something on Game Pass for a few points may sound like things could take a long time. But luckily for everyone, the points you gain can be built up even further with extra boosts from multipliers tied to challenges. Depending on how many games you play within a given month, as well as how many times you play each week, you can greatly increase the amount of points gained in your account. This means playing at least one game through Xbox Game Pass every day of the week in order to get the most points from the service. If you skip a day, however, you won't get the final bonuses on the last day of the week, only the ones you manage to reach within your given streak of logins.

Having a streak can multiply the number of points you gain by 2X the following week. In addition, the last few days of the week gain extra bonus points if you manage to log onto Xbox Game Pass every day of that week. Completing a full week of gaming, like hopping into Gears of War: Reloaded multiplayer each day, can net you at least +175 points as a completed challenge to your account for rewards, on top of other bonuses you gain that same week. Everything stacks upon one another as you continue to play every day, which is further enhanced by monthly bonuses as well. Playing at least four different games within a month will yield a bonus, and playing eight different games within the month will also give you more. And both rewards can be redeemed after one another, on top of all the other bonuses you pick up along the way.

That may sound like a lot to do, especially if you don't have much time to spare on gaming every week, but it's nowhere near as bad as you think. In my own time playing games through Xbox Game Pass, I often found myself jumping between different Xbox titles on Game Pass to try out, which all counted towards the challenges each week and month. As long as I played each game I tried out for a little while, they would count towards my weekly and monthly bonuses. This would build up each week by the end of the month, when I was getting a lot of points at a time. And before I knew it, I had amassed more than 10,000 points to my account, and got really close to redeeming some of the rewards that were available. Simply playing different games at my leisure each day got me a free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate added to my account, which was very nice.

Gaining in more places than the console

Including mobile and PC rewards

For those who have multiple devices besides their Xbox Series X/S console, the rewards from everything stretch out even further. Challenges from Xbox Game Pass and Microsoft Rewards can be triggered by logging into the Xbox app on mobile devices, as well as by playing games on PC through Xbox Game Pass. Some of these rewards have different amounts of points that can be gained, as well as their own bonuses that come from streaks of logging in each day.

Opening up the Xbox app every day can trigger another bonus streak, even if you only look at some of the basic info about your account and nothing else. You're still engaging with the app enough to trigger more points added to your growing total. There's also a small game called Jewel that you can access through the mobile app, which gives a few extra points by just opening it. You don't get anything more from playing Jewel for a long time, or even doing well in the game itself, so you don't have to spend much time with it.

The same thing can be done with PC games through Game Pass, including titles that aren't available on consoles. Games like Jade Empire, Minecraft, Command & Conquer, and other PC-centric titles are on the service for PC users, but are still counted as the games you play for that day and month. As long as you're playing for at least 15 minutes, all of those games will still count towards your streaks and bonuses. However, being active on both your Xbox console and PC will stack up the bonuses even further. Playing a PC game for at least five days out of the week will net you a big point bonus, and will come with a daily bonus each day, which counts separately from the daily console login. Potentially, someone who engages with the Xbox platform a lot can get reward points from three sources at a time, which can turn into a big win every single week when your streaks are reset.

Play games and get rewarded

Anyone who loves to play video games frequently is also a person who likes to get additional freebies when they can. And right now, Xbox is the only platform that actively rewards players through Microsoft Rewards for spending a lot of time with it. Being active on Xbox Game Pass each day can keep the points trickling in to your total and build up enough to redeem many of the different rewards options that the service offers. It takes a tiny bit of effort to maximize everything each day, but the payoff of what you gain in the long run every week and month is exponentially more than you realize, and well worth the small effort for anyone who loves playing games on their Xbox devices.