Microsoft: Xbox Game Pass to become cheaper

The Xbox Game Pass will become cheaper again after several price increases: the game subscription will in the future cost only 21 instead of the recent 27 euros in its Ultimate tier, Microsoft announced in a blog post. The price of the PC Game Pass will drop from 15 to 13 euros per month; Microsoft is not touching the other tiers. The changes are to take effect immediately.

In return, Microsoft will no longer integrate the new “Call of Duty” games into Game Pass on day one, according to the blog post. Instead, new “Call of Duty” shooters are to join Game Pass in the Christmas season after release, about a year after their release.

The “Call of Duty” Compromise

This is an understandable compromise: The annually released “Call of Duty” games are aimed at a broad audience that plays the shooter throughout the year and doesn't want to discover many other titles during that time. For the hardcore fans of “Call of Duty,” it has always been cheaper to buy the game individually each year rather than to subscribe to Game Pass permanently.

Meanwhile, many subscribers who are not interested in the shooter games have had to financially bear the cost of integrating the relatively expensive-to-develop “Call of Duty” games on release day into Game Pass. Those who only want to play the single-player campaigns of “Call of Duty” instead of the multiplayer mode can continue to do so, but they will have to wait a year for it. “Call of Duty” titles already included in Game Pass are also said to remain.

Even for users who want to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate and play “Call of Duty” right at launch, not much changes mathematically: the price reduction in the monthly subscription saves 72 euros annually, while a new “Call of Duty” game is usually sold for 80 euros.

Decision by New Xbox CEO

The decision to include “Call of Duty” in Game Pass with a delay and, in return, lower the price for the game subscription is claimed by the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. The Game Pass in its Ultimate tier had become too expensive, Sharma writes on X.

Microsoft last comprehensively revised the Game Pass subscription model last October. At that time, prices were increased, features like cloud gaming were redistributed, and a new intermediate subscription tier was introduced. Before the change, an Ultimate subscription cost 18 euros per month. The Ultimate tier works across devices on PCs and consoles and offers the broadest access to new games in the game subscription. Those who only play on PC will find the PC Game Pass significantly cheaper.

(dahe)