Microsoft Raises Game Pass Ultimate Price 50%

Microsoft raised Xbox Game Pass Ultimate about 50% to roughly $29.99 a month and rebranded lower tiers as Essential, Premium and Ultimate. The company says Ultimate now includes expanded libraries and perks such as Fortnite Crew, Ubisoft+ Classics, EA Play and improved cloud streaming, but it also quietly removed a 10% Call of Duty Points discount for Ultimate members. The hike triggered widespread gamer backlash, cancellation campaigns, heavy traffic on subscription pages and renewed demand for older-priced prepaid codes sold by some retailers, and analysts warn the sudden increase could accelerate churn and test Xbox’s competitiveness and subscriber loyalty. Reporting from Bloomberg and Kotaku links the overhaul to the economics of day-one access for big franchises and estimates putting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Game Pass may have cost Microsoft roughly $300 million, a key rationale for repricing. Microsoft says Game Pass is profitable (reportedly nearly $5 billion) and had about 34–35 million subscribers earlier in 2024, and frames the move as recalibrating for sustainability amid rising content and licensing costs and regulatory scrutiny, though consumer response remains uncertain.