Microsoft Rebrands Game Pass, Raises Ultimate 50%

Microsoft overhauled Xbox Game Pass into three rebranded tiers — Essential ($9.99/month), Premium ($14.99/month) and Ultimate ($29.99/month) — and raised prices across some plans, including a 50% jump for Ultimate (from $19.99) and PC Game Pass moving from $12 to $16.50. Ultimate remains the only tier guaranteeing day‑one access to new first‑party releases (Microsoft said Call of Duty will launch on Ultimate), while Premium and Essential get expanded PC and cloud libraries but Premium will only receive new Xbox‑published games “within a year,” explicitly excluding Call of Duty at launch. Microsoft is adding benefits to Ultimate such as the Ubisoft+ Classics catalog and a Fortnite Crew membership and says the changes reflect an expanded catalog and upgraded cloud gaming. The company says subscribers will be automatically migrated to the new tiers, and some retailers briefly continued selling older one‑month Ultimate codes at the prior price. The changes prompted widespread online backlash, with many players and outlets calling the price increases steep relative to the new perks.