Xbox Revamps Tiers for Game Pass, Hikes Price of Ultimate to $29.99 Per Month

[Famine]

It must be a Europe thing b/c my e-mail directly said the price would be changing even though I've been a recurring subscriber for a few years now.

The price is changing for month-by-month Ultimate, so we can all get $11 of Fortnite stuff a month. It seems that people who have credit to pay for Ultimate already or a stacked sub it won't.

My Ultimate renews every month and I got:

Thank you for being a subscriber of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We are planning to update our prices to address changing market conditions. This price change allows us to continue to bring you more value and great games for the very best gaming experience. Starting November 4, 2025, the 1-month subscription price will be $29.99 plus applicable taxes every recurrence period unless you cancel up to two days prior to your next scheduled payment date. You can manage your subscription, how you pay, or cancel your subscription by visiting your Microsoft account here.

Here's your current plan:
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Your subscription price is changing from $19.99 to $29.99.

Which is odd as I pay £14.99 monthly...

However it does all seem hopelessly unclear. Guess we'll all find out in November.

 

[NLxAROSA]

However it does all seem hopelessly unclear. Guess we'll all find out in November.

Weird that they send you the US dollar price instead of UK pounds. Pretty sure you will pay whatever the nicely rounded UK pound value is, after Nov 4th. In my case: I already got this email, but my monthly sub renews on Oct 24, which is before Nov 4th. So I still get that one month for the old price, after that it becomes the new one (if I keep it around that is). So in my case the email is jumping the gun a bit. But in my account overview it lists my next payment on Oct 24 as the old price, so I assume this will sort itself out.

 

[SimTourist]

They never really recovered from this.
They had great momentum after the 360 and screwed it up Hollywood style.

Never really been into Xbox and never owned one but I do know that competition is needed in the games industry so their downfall is sad to see even from a Playstation only gamer.

Ultimately they have failed to make big hits that sell consoles aside from Halo, Gears and Forza and even drove those series into the ground. One of their biggest mistakes was letting Bungie go instead of granting them creative freedom, Destiny could've been the console selling hit they needed for Xbox one. One the dumbest decisions ever. Sony on the other hand trusts their teams to come up with something new and doesn't milk a single franchise forever.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Ultimately they have failed to make big hits that sell consoles aside from Halo, Gears and Forza and even drove those series into the ground. One of their biggest mistakes was letting Bungie go instead of granting them creative freedom, Destiny could've been the console selling hit they needed for Xbox one. One the dumbest decisions ever. Sony on the other hand trusts their teams to come up with something new and doesn't milk a single franchise forever.

Though Sony apparently fail to give any oversight on those teams, and the results of that were Concord and about 10 cancelled live service games that have put them several hundred million in the hole, and left a lot of people asking why they're not reviving those franchises that are recognizable and have been sitting abandoned for over a decade plus.

What it really comes down to is that Microsoft isn't a gaming company, and don't depend on Xbox for their continued survival. The fact that they tried to quickly buy their way to the top by acquiring Minecraft, Blizzard and Bethesda instead of putting more investment and resources into growing Xbox as a brand shows they don't have an interest in long term commitment anymore, and now they're already cutting into those acquisitions to put the resources elsewhere.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Though Sony apparently fail to give any oversight on those teams, and the results of that were Concord and about 10 cancelled live service games that have put them several hundred million in the hole, and left a lot of people asking why they're not reviving those franchises that are recognizable and have been sitting abandoned for over a decade plus.

What it really comes down to is that Microsoft isn't a gaming company, and don't depend on Xbox for their continued survival. The fact that they tried to quickly buy their way to the top by acquiring Minecraft, Blizzard and Bethesda instead of putting more investment and resources into growing Xbox as a brand shows they don't have an interest in long term commitment anymore, and now they're already cutting into those acquisitions to put the resources elsewhere.

To some degree, Sony maybe don't feel a need to revive some of them as Microsoft are handing them big franchises on a platter, Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, Indiana Jones and apparently very soon, Halo.

As players leave Game Pass and look for better value, Sony currently have an opportunity to really ramp up an advantage with PS Plus.

EDIT: https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-game...-in-some-countries-for-now-microsoft-confirms

The recent price hike for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate won't affect existing subscribers in some countries, Microsoft has confirmed.

Last week, the price of the top tier subscription went up by 50 percent, and has been met by criticism. But in some countries, this will only impact new subscribers - at least "for now".

"At this time, these increases will only affect new purchases and will not affect your current subscription for the market in which you reside, as long as you are on an auto-recurring plan," reads an email from Microsoft sent to subscribers in some regions. "Should you choose to cancel your plan and repurchase, you will be charged at the new current rate."
"Our recent Game Pass update remains unchanged. Current subscribers in certain countries will continue renewing at their existing price for now, in line with local requirements. We'll provide advance notice before price adjustments take effect in these countries," says Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications

The countries unaffected by the price increase include Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Poland, and India. The US and UK are not included.

It's been speculated this change is due to local regulation on subscription price changes. The email from Microsoft notes subscribers will be notified "at least 60 days in advance" of any price changes - so at the least, this latest increase won't take effect for another two months.

 

[NLxAROSA]

The way I see it is that MSFT won't ditch their gaming actitivies. I think the expansions onto other platforms, inclusion of other subscriptions, etc. all point to that. Xbox as hardware though.... I think they'd rather turn the Xbox App into something like Steam Big Picture mode so it runs fine on any platform, including handhelds and 3rd party hardware/consoles. But that's just my crystal ball.

I would also not be surprised if the crowd in here (including me) are actually a minority and the majority of folks play a lot of games, but only for a short while before they get bored and move on to the next title. For those, a subscription with every large publisher and cloud gaming in it makes more sense instead of buying individual titles.

And money talks. MSFT games being in the top selling games on PS5 (which Sony takes a sizeable cut out of) will certainly make Sony more willing to listen to MSFT wanting to have Game Pass on Playstation. Especially if MSFT does indeed drop their Xbox hardware and they're essentially just a publisher.

 

[kjb]

The way I see it is that MSFT won't ditch their gaming actitivies. I think the expansions onto other platforms, inclusion of other subscriptions, etc. all point to that. Xbox as hardware though.... I think they'd rather turn the Xbox App into something like Steam Big Picture mode so it runs fine on any platform, including handhelds and 3rd party hardware/consoles. But that's just my crystal ball.

I would also not be surprised if the crowd in here (including me) are actually a minority and the majority of folks play a lot of games, but only for a short while before they get bored and move on to the next title. For those, a subscription with every large publisher and cloud gaming in it makes more sense instead of buying individual titles.

And money talks. MSFT games being in the top selling games on PS5 (which Sony takes a sizeable cut out of) will certainly make Sony more willing to listen to MSFT wanting to have Game Pass on Playstation. Especially if MSFT does indeed drop their Xbox hardware and they're essentially just a publisher.

I think you hit it right on the nose. M$ wants to get Game pass everywhere so the tag line everything is an Xbox will come to pass. They will still make the consoles but their the main driving force is Gamepass that is akin to Steam or Epic stores that you can access from any device. They already doing this anyway. Also I think you are right, more casual gamers don't mind paying the sub as long they get access to a wide variety of games. In that sense , Gamepass becomes a value added service for them. For most people here not so much. I like to "own" my games and not pay monthly privilege to access fees.

 

[DeathGRiP]

I just turned reoccurring billing off, saves me the money each month. Its not worth the new price.

 

[Fezzik]

I don't have a PC or Xbox, so I've subbed in the past to Ultimate just for xCloud (hundreds of hours of FH4 and FH5). As they've added the cloud streaming to the base tier this may actually save me money when/if FH6 and Fable come out next year - as long as the service isn't completely nerfed on that tier to force you into the more expensive ones.

 

[GlamFM]

I don't have a PC or Xbox, so I've subbed in the past to Ultimate just for xCloud (hundreds of hours of FH4 and FH5). As they've added the cloud streaming to the base tier this may actually save me money when/if FH6 and Fable come out next year - as long as the service isn't completely nerfed on that tier to force you into the more expensive ones.

But the base tier does not get day 1 releases anymore, no? Or is it different on xCloud?

 

[NLxAROSA]

But the base tier does not get day 1 releases anymore, no?

It does not. The middle one doesn't either, it's now 'within 12 months'. For day 1 you need Ultimate.

 

[Fezzik]

I can wait. Will see what they come out on first, the lower streaming tiers or PS5

 

[sirjim73]

To some degree, Sony maybe don't feel a need to revive some of them as Microsoft are handing them big franchises on a platter, Forza Horizon, Sea of Thieves, Indiana Jones and apparently very soon, Halo.

As players leave Game Pass and look for better value, Sony currently have an opportunity to really ramp up an advantage with PS Plus.

EDIT: https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-game...-in-some-countries-for-now-microsoft-confirms

TrueAchievements is reporting this also.
It looks like it's just a time notification thing, so I think the other countries will probably increase in January 2026 if not before.

Xbox Game Pass price hike delayed in some countries

Microsoft is pausing the price increase for monthly Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions in several countries, including Germany, Ireland, and Poland.

www.trueachievements.com

From memory, in the UK you only need 14 days notice of a change to your direct debit etc, which is why the UK will be increased by November.

 

[Vic Reign93]

So possibly a daft question, but here goes.

I got an email saying that my Game Pass Core(Now Essential) is going up on November 4th to $79.99 (just over £60 in local money.) from $74:99, but my current yearly renewal is £59.99 and is next renewed in July next year.

Thing is, that £59.99 price for me next year has been like that long before these price hikes were announced.

So are these upcoming price changes in November gonna affect that £59.99 yearly renewal for me or is that safe as long as I keep renewing the current yearly subscription?

 

[shoemaker]

Screw ms and vpn to india. Buy your renewal there. I shall be definitely downgrading from ultimate to the base- solely for multiplayer. Corporate greed from microsoft.

 

[sirjim73]

So possibly a daft question, but here goes.

I got an email saying that my Game Pass Core(Now Essential) is going up on November 4th to $79.99 (just over £60 in local money.) from $74:99, but my current yearly renewal is £59.99 and is next renewed in July next year.

Thing is, that £59.99 price for me next year has been like that long before these price hikes were announced.

So are these upcoming price changes in November gonna affect that £59.99 yearly renewal for me or is that safe as long as I keep renewing the current yearly subscription?

Hmm, there is not supposed to be a change in price for Essential with this increase, but I think there may have been a smaller increase already a while ago. So the $5 change might be because of that?

The prior mentioned (in this thread) email about some countries subscriptions not increasing when there is a recurring subscription already in place was related to Ultimate not Premium or Essential, but it might not be long lasting anyway, I didn't get the email but I think it might have said "for now"? Which suggested to me that it will increase for Ultimate as soon as the ?EU legislation permits it?

 

[Vic Reign93]

Hmm, there is not supposed to be a change in price for Essential with this increase, but I think there may have been a smaller increase already a while ago. So the $5 change might be because of that?

The prior mentioned (in this thread) email about some countries subscriptions not increasing when there is a recurring subscription already in place was related to Ultimate not Premium or Essential, but it might not be long lasting anyway, I didn't get the email but I think it might have said "for now"? Which suggested to me that it will increase for Ultimate as soon as the ?EU legislation permits it?

This is the Email I got and as it mentions, Game Pass Core(formerly XBL Gold) is now Game Pass Essential.

Also they’ve apparently removed the 12 month option for Xbox Game Pass Essential and there’s only 1 & 3 month options at £6.99 and £19.99 respectively so a year of XBL will now be £80 in theory, £20 more than my next payment of my yearly £60 renewal.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

View attachment 1485186
This is the Email I got and as it mentions, Game Pass Core(formerly XBL Gold) is now Game Pass Essential.

Also they’ve apparently removed the 12 month option for Xbox Game Pass Essential and there’s only 1 & 3 month options at £6.99 and £19.99 respectively so a year of XBL will now be £80 in theory, £20 more than my next payment of my yearly £60 renewal.

Just buy it from cdkeys/loaded, it's cheaper.