Microsoft Reverses Course on Game Pass Pricing Following Player Outcry
Microsoft pushed up the price of Game Pass Ultimate by $10 to $29.99 a month in October, and just six months later, the company is backpedaling. Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 a month, while PC Game Pass will also drop from $16.49 to $13.99 a month. The steep reversal marks a rare admission that the recently appointed head of Xbox, Asha Sharma, reportedly told employees in a memo that Game Pass had become too expensive for too many players.
The relief over cheaper prices comes with a substantial trade-off. Future Call of Duty titles won’t join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. Instead, new Call of Duty games will be added during the following holiday season, about a year later. Industry analyst Mat Piscatella notes it was clear from very early on that Call of Duty on Game Pass did not lead to a significant increase in Xbox console sales or even subscriptions.
The community response remains divided. Casual players drawn to the service’s extensive library may see the change as a welcome correction, but for those who subscribed specifically for day-one access to blockbuster titles, the value proposition has fundamentally changed. Still, analysts believe it will lead to growth for Microsoft’s struggling subscription numbers.
Is the reduced price worth losing immediate access to gaming’s biggest shooter franchise? That calculation now sits squarely with each subscriber.
