Xbox Game Pass Price Hike Sees Fans Scramble to Cancel Subscriptions

$30 per month has proved to be the tipping point for many.

We've been talking about Xbox Game Pass and its pricing shenanigans for almost two years now. The last price hike came in July of 2024, which brought the price of Game Pass Ultimate up to $19.99 a month, a move which resulted in the FCC being compelled to look into the change. Flash forward to now and Game Pass Ultimate has yet again seen its price go up: the service is now a whopping $29.99 per month. That comes out to $359.88, or just about $360.

The changes don't stop there. The other two tiers of Game Pass have now been renamed and repriced: Game Pass Core ($9.99) is now Game Pass Essential ($11.99) and Game Pass Standard ($11.99) is now Game Pass Premium ($14.99). Here's a breakdown of what each tier nets the subscriber:

So, what is Microsoft alleging is the reasoning for the price jump? Here's what had to say:

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, whether you love day one releases, discovering hidden gems, or playing across multiple devices and screens and across Xbox consoles, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud.

As part of this change, Microsoft is going to be offering players at the Ultimate tier Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics, enhanced streaming capabilities, and the usual day-one access for certain titles.

Microsoft certainly talks a big game, but the $30 price tag has proved the tipping point for many a consumer, as the Internet lit up with discussion of subscribers heading to the Xbox website at such a volume to cancel their subscriptions that the site was overwhelmed. While there are likely some users who were happy to hear about Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics coming to the Ultimate tier, there were likely many more who would have gladly carried on without either if it meant keeping the price static.

We'll be talking about this price jump in an upcoming episode of The Midnight Burial podcast, so be sure to keep an eye open for it. In the interim, why not let us know if you were among those who canceled Game Pass by telling us on social media?

Source: GamesIndustry.biz