What do you want to know?
- Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s all-you-can-eat gaming subscription service, bringing together hundreds of games and day-one titles from Microsoft’s internal studios, including ABK titles like the upcoming Call of Duty.
- Like Netflix, Spotify and other services, Microsoft is now raising the price of all of its existing tiers, including console, Ultimate and PC.
- Additionally, new users will not be able to sign up for Xbox Game Pass for Console. A new “Standard” tier will be available soon, which not include first day games, but will include the catalog of several hundred titles similar to EA Access and Xbox Live Gold for multiplayer.
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and price increases. Today, Microsoft confirmed to us that the details of the long-awaited Xbox Game Pass price increase are here, but it also comes with major changes to the base level of the Xbox console.
Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s all-you-can-eat gaming subscription service, much like Netflix, and one of its most notable recent gaming innovations. For a monthly fee, players get access to hundreds of games, as well as early titles from Microsoft studios. That includes games like Bethesda’s Starfield, 343i’s Halo, and upcoming titles like the next Call of Duty, which is set to launch this fall.
Not long ago, Microsoft rebranded Xbox Live Gold (the paywall for premium multiplayer titles) as Xbox Game Pass Core, and has made a few small price increases over the years. Today, we’re seeing another name change, as well as a major change to the base tier of Xbox Game Pass, along with a series of price increases.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prepaid cards are currently $14.99 on Amazon, before the price increased to $19.99.
- Soon, Xbox Game Pass for console will be shutting down for new users only.
- Current Xbox Game Pass for Console subscribers will be able to keep their subscriptionas well as day one games and hundreds of back catalog titles.
- In the near future, new Xbox Game Pass users will be greeted with a new “Standard” Xbox Game Pass. This is more like EA Access, which includes the Xbox catalog and does not include day one games. It will cost $14.99 per month and will also include Xbox Live Gold for multiplayer (now known as Game Pass Core, which is confusing). It does not include Xbox Cloud Gaming. Game Pass Standard is supposed to launch in September.
- From September 12, 2024, Microsoft will only allow users to accumulate Xbox Game Pass for Console users for up to 13 months, using prepaid cards and others, which will continue to work. If you have already accumulated more than 13 months, you will not be affected.
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will not change, but its price will increase. It will still include PC Game Pass, day one games and hundreds of titles from the previous catalog, as well as cloud gaming. But its price is increasing. The new price will be $19.99 per month.
- PC Game Pass is also getting a price increasefrom $9.99 per month to $11.99.
- PC Game Pass will also continue to receive day one games.
- Xbox Game Pass Core (Xbox Live Gold multiplayer) gets annual price increase to $74.99 instead of $59.99, but it will remain at $9.99 per month.
- THE Price increases are global. You can check the new prices for your region here.
- For users with recurring billing, The new rates will come into effect on September 12, 2024, giving you time to cancel if you don’t feel like it.
- UPDATE: Microsoft now has a support page dedicated to these changes here.
According to Microsoft, the vast majority of current users are already on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, their flagship subscription for the service. Game Pass Ultimate integrates all games on Xbox consoles, as well as in the cloud, and also on PC, often with cross-saves and cross-progression.
Microsoft joins a long list of subscription services like Netflix, Spotify, and others that have raised their prices in recent years. For users who play tons of games, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is more than worth it, but for those who don’t, Xbox Game Pass could increasingly look like a subscription service worth dropping from their monthly bills to save money.
Price increases are here as Microsoft admits day one games are the norm
Xbox Game Pass has been an incredible service for users, with hundreds of games and thousands of dollars per year in annual savings, if you actually use the service frequently. Personally, I TO DO use it frequently and consistently, especially for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Indeed, Xbox Cloud Gaming should also allow you to play games you actually own outside of Xbox Game Pass fairly quickly, which will increase the value of Ultimate.
Still, the fact that “day one games” are no longer the norm seems like a major concession for Microsoft. Since the service’s inception, people have questioned whether giving everyone access to games on day one was a viable model, and post-pandemic, that may simply not be the case at this previous price point. However, the vast majority of users are currently on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, I’m told. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will continue to receive Xbox titles on day one, including Call of Duty 2024 heading into this holiday season. It’s also a positive step that Microsoft has integrated Xbox Game Pass for existing console users into the system, allowing them to retain their entitlements. I can see this model gradually fading away, though, as more users upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Truth be told, some users probably don’t see the point in paying for “Xbox Live Gold” multiplayer, given that many titles are now free and don’t require any form of paid subscription to play. For them, a service like Xbox Game Pass for console might be a better option than Ultimate. But I think the audience is probably small at this point.
Unlike Netflix and Spotify, which have access to a near-infinite number of devices to expand onto, Xbox Game Pass as a subscription service is arguably limited to a subset of devices in a subset of scenarios, while competing with platforms like Steam on PC and PlayStation on console. Apple and Google are doing everything they can to prevent Xbox Cloud Gaming from becoming a reality, and Microsoft has struggled to transition Xbox One owners to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S as quickly as I’m sure it would have liked. It’ll be interesting to see how the service evolves from here.