Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a substantial price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. If you’re a subscriber in the US, you will now be charged $30/month, a $10 bump from the previous $20/month rate. The new price is effective immediately, so you may have already paid the increased rate if you were billed already this month. That said, there is a way to avoid the price increase: prepaid codes. The price of prepaid membership codes hasn’t changed–at least not yet. Over at Amazon, you can get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-Month Membership codes for $55 (was $60), which breaks down to $18.33/month. Based on Microsoft’s new subscription price, you’re saving $35 across three months.
1-Month prepaid codes are sold for $20 at Amazon, so you’re saving an additional five bucks every three months with Amazon’s deal. Amazon’s prepaid codes can be redeemed by existing and new subscribers with a US Xbox account. Once you enter a prepaid code, your next billing date is pushed. So if you redeem a 3-Month Membership in October, you won’t be billed again by Microsoft until January.
The discount on prepaid codes becomes more glaring if you buy multiple. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can be stacked up to 36 months. For instance, if you were to buy four prepaid 3-Month codes, you’d save $140 on a full year of Game Pass Ultimate. Here’s a breakdown of the savings from buying Amazon’s prepaid code deal versus subscribing directly through Microsoft. Note: The numbers in the Amazon column are based on the 3-Month Membership deal, but even if the price jumps back to $60, you’re still saving a ton of cash.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Microsoft Store vs. Prepaid Codes
| Duration: | Microsoft: | Amazon Deal: | Savings: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Months | $90 | $55 | $35 |
| 6 Months | $180 | $110 | $70 |
| 9 Months | $270 | $165 | $105 |
| 1 Year | $360 | $220 | $140 |
| 2 Years | $720 | $440 | $280 |
| 3 Years | $1,080 | $660 | $420 |
It’s unclear how long retailers will stick with the old $20/month rate. Amazon’s $55 deal is new this week; earlier this month, Amazon was charging $60. For what it’s worth, Amazon has historically held out longer than other retailers when prices have changed in the past. The retailer was selling the 3-Month Membership code for $45 long after Microsoft increased the price of Game Pass Ultimate to $17/month. The latest price change for Game Pass Ultimate is by far the biggest of the three price hikes the service has experienced over the years. While this is a disappointing for subscribers, it also means it’s more important than ever to take advantage of prepaid code discounts.
If you aren’t a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, now’s a pretty good time to become a member. Multiple AAA games are coming to Game Pass Ultimate on launch day in the coming weeks, including Ninja Gaiden 4 (October 21), The Outer Worlds 2 (October 29), and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (November 14).
Additionally, Microsoft and Asus just launched the first Xbox handheld. The ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally are available now for $1,000 and $600, respectively. Check out our buying guide for details on each of these handheld PCs. Both devices can play the Game Pass Ultimate library natively, so members have a built-in catalog of hundreds of games out of the gate.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate grants access to the full Xbox and PC Game Pass libraries as well as Xbox Cloud Gaming. The Ultimate tier is the only one that includes EA Play and Ubisoft+ Classics. At the moment, Game Pass Ultimate’s catalog features over 500 games across Xbox and PC catalogs. Take a look at our story on Game Pass price changes for more details on the new subscription tiers.
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