To no one’s surprise, given the recent rumors and speculation, Xbox has officially confirmed that it is dropping the price of Xbox Game Pass.
“Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for many gamers,” said Asha Sharma, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, on social media this morning. “Starting today, we’re dropping the price from $29.99 to $22.99/month.”
It’s not exactly cause for celebration, however, as the reduced price comes with a reduction. Sharma also announced that future Call of Duty titles will no longer join Game Pass on day one. Instead, they’ll be part of Game Pass Ultimate for “the holidays following launch,” which is roughly one year after their release. This change does not affect current Call of Duty games on Game Pass.
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Sharma ended the announcement by saying that the company will “continue to learn and evolve Game Pass to better match what’s important to players.” It’s something that’s been at the forefront of players’ minds for a long time, even before Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond left the company. At the time of its launch, Xbox Game Pass was priced so steeply that people didn’t mind paying a monthly subscription fee. With the recent price hikes for Game Pass, and everything else, consumers are starting to back off and cancel services like Game Pass and Netflix.
Xbox Game Pass Still Doesn’t Feel Like “Best Gaming Deal” After Its Price Drop
Part of the initial hype around the Game Pass model was paying $15 per month for its library of games, and each day the group started one release from Microsoft.
That was back in 2019, and a lot has changed since then. Not only has Microsoft acquired several major publishers, including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard King, but it has also started adding more bonuses to its Game Pass subscription. Some of them, like the inclusion of selected Electronic Arts games through EA Play and Ubisoft+, are beneficial. It expands the Game Pass library and gives me access to titles through subscription services that I wouldn’t otherwise pay for, because I already have too many subscriptions.
With the recent price hikes for Game Pass, and everything else, consumers are starting to back off and cancel services like Game Pass and Netflix.
However, some I could not live without. I would much rather pay $15 a month for all the benefits of Game Pass Ultimate and give up the Fortnite Crew benefit, which includes access to various Battle Passes and a monthly allowance of 1,000 V-Bucks. By default, 1,000 V-Bucks will cost $8.99. I throw away over $100 a year on something that I, and many other Game Pass subscribers, will never use.
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Long live the Xbox 360.
There’s no denying that this is a step in the right direction for the Xbox brand. It’s been a decade since they’ve lost the messaging war, throwing away all the fortunes they built up over the Xbox 360 generation on that fateful day in 2013 when they unveiled the Xbox One console. It’s surprising, too, because despite the price increase, having an Xbox Game Pass subscription saved me money. It will continue to save me money this year, as 2026 is already off to a good start, with games like Vampire Crawlers, Hades 2, Forza Horizon 6, and Replaced all coming to Game Pass this spring alone.
It doesn’t matter, though, how stacked the Game Pass library is if people feel it’s too expensive. Today’s price cut is a start, but Asha Sharma and company still have a lot of work to do to repair the reputation of the Xbox brand.
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