Microsoft has announced another Xbox Game Pass price hike, with the Ultimate tier going up to $30/month. Microsoft is making this change just ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s release in November. It follows a price increase on Xbox consoles that was announced last week.
For now, however, you can still get a one-month Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $20 at Amazon.
Microsoft is making the price changes as part of a wider claim that it’s giving people “more” than before to help justify the price hike. “We know not everyone wants the same thing in their Xbox experience, so we’re evolving Game Pass to offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players,” Microsoft said.
New plan names and pricing
Beginning today, October 1, Microsoft is rolling out three “upgraded” Game Pass tiers, including Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. The Xbox Game Pass Core tier is being removed, with people on that plan automatically shifted to Essential. Additionally, the Standard tier is gone as well, with members shifted to the Premium plan. The Ultimate plan is staying the same, at least in terms of its name.
- Xbox Game Pass Essential (formerly Core) — $10/month (no price change)
- Xbox Game Pass Premium (formerly Standard) — $15/month (no price change)
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — $30/month (was $20/month)
- PC Game Pass — $16.50/month (was $12/month)
Game Pass Ultimate gets “biggest upgrade yet” with these perks
Game Pass Ultimate is seeing a 50% price increase from $20/month to $30/month, and Microsoft said the tier is getting the “biggest upgrade yet,” but what does that actually mean?
For Game Pass Ultimate, subscribers are now getting “more day-one games than ever before,” along with access to Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics. Members also get “enhanced” Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality up to 1440p. Fortnite Crew, which costs $12/month by itself, comes to Game Pass Ultimate on November 18. Fortnite Crew gives members the latest Fortnite battle pass, along with 1,000 V-Bucks each month, in addition to other benefits. Ubisoft+ Classics, meanwhile, costs $16/month on its own and includes a variety of Ubisoft gams for PC, console, and the cloud.
Another perk added to Game Pass Ultimate is “best quality streaming and shortest wait times” for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Additionally, Xbox Cloud Gaming has now officially left “beta” and is now at 1.0.
There are also Rewards program perks for Game Pass Ultimate members who subscribe for the new, more expensive price. “With our upgraded Rewards program, players can get up to 30% value on select Game Pass games, with 4x points on purchases of games and add-ons, 10% back in points on select Game Pass library titles and add-ons, and up to 20% off select Game Pass games,” Microsoft said.
New for Game Pass Essential
The Game Pass Essential tier (formerly Core) includes unlimited cloud gaming, online multiplayer support, a catalog of 50+ games, and certain in-game perks for select titles. Additionally, Microsoft said this tier now makes all titles in the catalog “fully playable on PC” as opposed to only console. The $10/month price is the same as when it was called Core.
New for Game Pass Premium
Game Pass Premium (formerly Standard) is getting “more games than ever before,” with the library growing to 200+ titles across console and PC, and the price is staying at $15/month. Some of the new games added today include Diablo 4 and Hogwarts Legacy. Going forward, Game Pass Premium members will get Microsoft’s own first-party games within a year of their launch–the exception, however, are Call of Duty titles. To get those, you’ll have to subscribe to Ultimate or buy outright.
Premium members also now get “unlimited cloud gaming,” and new in-game benefits for titles like League of Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Rainbow Six Siege X.
PC Game Pass
PC Game Pass was not highlighted in Microsoft’s blog post about the price and content changes for Game Pass, but people quickly discovered that Microsoft is raising the price from $12/month to $16.50/month. It will continues to get new day-one releases from Microsoft, including Call of Duty titles.
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