Amazon Prime Day is great for tech and gaming deals, but there don't seem to be many bargains on consoles this time around. However, in all honesty, you don't even need one to be up and playing Xbox games in no time at all – and we know a neat trick to save £100s in the process.
That's because Xbox Cloud Gaming recently launched on Fire TV Sticks, allowing you to play 100s of premium Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One games on your TV without needing a console at all. All you need is an Amazon device and a controller.
And, as there are some superb Prime Day deals on the supported Fire TV Sticks and Xbox Wireless Controllers, you'll even save money on those. Add the fact that you can get a 1-month code for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at its pre-price hike cost and you can be fully gamed-up for under £100.
Compatible Fire TV Stick deals
Xbox Cloud Gaming works on the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming devices. Both are available in the Prime Day sales with healthy discounts.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is faster and has a more stable internet connection, but either should work well.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: was £59.99, now £32.99 at Amazon
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K supports Ultra HD streaming with up to Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio. It is the minimum requirement to run Xbox Cloud Gaming through the Xbox app.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max: was £69.99, now £39.99 at Amazon
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the better choice for Xbox Cloud Gaming as it supports a faster, more stable Wi-Fi standard and has a beefier processor to ensure everything runs even more smoothly.
Compatible Wireless Controller deals
Although you don't need an Xbox, you will need a wireless controller to play games streamed over Xbox Cloud Gaming. Any Bluetooth controller will do – as you connect it to the Fire TV Stick – although for the best experience we advise you get an official Xbox Wireless Controller.
Thankfully, those are available in Prime Day deals too.
Xbox Wireless Controller (red): was £59.99, now £41.99 at Amazon
The Xbox Wireless Controller can be used with Xbox consoles or PCs, but also comes with built-in Bluetooth support so can be connected to a Fire TV too. You can even use it with a mobile device.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deals
To play the 100s of Xbox games available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, you will need a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. After a recent price hike, it costs £14.99 per month – however, as you can still buy passes for the service on Amazon at the old subscription fee of £12.99 per month, you can save money there too.
In fact, you can even buy a 3-month pass to the service for just £38.99, ensuring that you have several months' worth at the old price.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month: just £12.99 at Amazon
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, but also PC Game Pass, EA Play, the vast Xbox Game Pass games library and much more.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-months: just £38.99 at Amazon
Get 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate for a lot less than the new price plan – a saving of almost £6.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you far more than just Xbox Cloud Gaming, as it enables Xbox gamers to access 100s of games to download on their consoles too. Plus, you get 100s of PC games, Electronic Arts' back catalogue in EA Play, discounts and a whole lot more besides.
In addition, you can play the exact same Xbox Cloud Gaming titles on mobile devices (and Samsung Smart TVs), with the ability to save on one screen and pick up the action on another.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and 4K Max devices will work on any TV with a HDMI port – you'll just need a strong Wi-Fi signal too to stream the games over the internet.
They work as if installed on a home Xbox but are played on a remote server elsewhere, with your control codes going in one direction and the gameplay video streamed back to you in return.
Of course, the better your TV the better the games will look, so you might want to consider a TV upgrade too this Prime Day... it's not essential, but there are some great deals there too.
This super Sony TV deal for starters...
Sony A80L OLED 55-inch: was £1,899, now £1,199 on Amazon
The A80L is an excellent, premium OLED TV that's a massive bargain with £700 off the RRP.
Amazon Prime Day runs until the end of play on Wednesday 17 July 2024. You will need to be a Prime member to get the above deals too, but thankfully you can sign up right now with a 30-day free trial.
Then, if you don't want to continue with the multiple benefits, you can always cancel before the month is out.
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Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.
Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.
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