Microsoft lowers Game Pass Ultimate and PC prices, won't include next Call of Duty

[Daniel Sims]

What just happened? Microsoft has followed through on earlier reports that it would lower Game Pass subscription prices. While the cheaper tiers and overall game selection remain largely unchanged, the premium and PC-only plans are now only slightly more expensive than they were before 2025 changes. Future Call of Duty releases will join Game Pass after a one-year delay.

The Game Pass front page on Microsoft's website now shows revised pricing for the service's two most expensive plans. Although delaying the addition of new Call of Duty titles marks a reversal of the company's earlier strategy, the expanded library introduced during last year's major price increase remains intact.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which rose from $20 to $30 per month last October, has dropped to $23 this week. It still includes more than 500 console and PC games, first-party titles at launch, cloud gaming, Fortnite Crew, EA Play, and Ubisoft+ Classics.

Meanwhile, PC Game Pass, which increased from $12 to $16.50 last year, is now $14 and continues to offer day-one releases, EA Play, and hundreds of other PC titles. Game Pass Essential at $10 per month for 50 games and Premium at $15 for more than 200 titles remain unchanged.

However, the next Call of Duty entry, expected as a follow-up to Modern Warfare III and scheduled for release this October, will not arrive on Game Pass until the 2027 holiday season. Existing Call of Duty titles on the service will remain available.

In a leaked memo, Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma, said the subscription had become too expensive and that Microsoft needed more flexible options. Earlier reports suggested Sharma would steer Game Pass back toward a more aggressive, growth-focused strategy after recent price increases aimed at boosting profits but may have contributed to record cancellation rates. This week's changes appear to strike a middle ground.

Like most subscription services, Game Pass launched with a relatively generous catalog at affordable prices before raising prices once users were locked in. Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard and the subsequent inclusion of new entries in the subscription proved to be a major catalyst, costing the company about $300 million in traditional game sales in 2024.

Holding back new Call of Duty releases while lowering prices suggests Microsoft is trying to balance costs for both the company and its subscribers. More changes to Game Pass are likely.

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Microsoft lowers Game Pass Ultimate and PC prices, won't include next Call of Duty

 

[m4a4]

Well, that will diminish it's value for a fair amount of it's users.

I don't see myself buying another CoD myself. But a part of GP? Might actually play it.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Better deal, but still putting my money towards steam purchases rather than monthly rentals.

 

[bviktor]

1. They require 30% margins from long serving Xbox exec Spencer even though they know it's impossible
2. They inevitably raise prices
3. Obviously it still fails, they blame the execs for falling sales and oust them
4. They bring in new paratrooper execs from this brave new AI world
5. They make statements about "realizing" that prices are too high
6. They reduce prices

Am I missing something? If this wasn't an internal coup against Spencer + Bond, I don't know what is.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

1. They require 30% margins from long serving Xbox exec Spencer even though they know it's impossible
2. They inevitably raise prices
3. Obviously it still fails, they blame the execs for falling sales and oust them
4. They bring in new paratrooper execs from this brave new AI world
5. They make statements about "realizing" that prices are too high
6. They reduce prices

Am I missing something? If this wasn't an internal coup against Spencer + Bond, I don't know what is.

The 30 percent demand comes from above spencer.

MS just has no idea what they are doing. Nadella is so hyper focused on copilot he has lost control of the hydra.

 

[toooooot]

It was insanity to demand 30 bucks for gamepass in the first place. But the tops said, we need this much, and xbox execs obeyed.
Now some clarity started to leak into their heads. The new problem is, what about people who subbed strictly to get every next CoD cheaper?
How much of the sub base are they. How many subs will Xbox lose when they surely cancel?

 

[OortCloud]

The rollercoaster that is GamePass membership continues. I cancelled mine when it went up last year. Let's be clear, it's still up in price, just less so now...

 

[Burty117]

The new problem is, what about people who subbed strictly to get every next CoD cheaper?
How much of the sub base are they. How many subs will Xbox lose when they surely cancel?

How is paying $30 a month for a year ($360) cheaper than buying the game once? ($80)

 

[Neatfeatguy]

How is paying $30 a month for a year ($360) cheaper than buying the game once? ($80)

In the end it's all about personal needs/wants.

If you simply are relying on Game Pass to give you access to the new CoD game and nothing more, then it would be irresponsible to spend $360 a year on the subscription service over paying once for the game, plus whatever is required to play online with Xbox.

If you know of a handful of games releasing on Xbox that'll be available on Game Pass that cost $70 a pop if purchased alone, then maybe the $360 a year sub is more cost beneficial to you over paying the same or more for the games individually. Plus you have the ability to play any other game offered on the services.

You need to get informed and make a proper decision that works best for you.

 

[toooooot]

How is paying $30 a month for a year ($360) cheaper than buying the game once? ($80)

I think they also gave in-game content to pass users.

 

[Burty117]

I think they also gave in-game content to pass users.

Surely the in-game content is worth less than $280?

In the end it's all about personal needs/wants.

If you simply are relying on Game Pass to give you access to the new CoD game and nothing more, then it would be irresponsible to spend $360 a year on the subscription service over paying once for the game, plus whatever is required to play online with Xbox.

If you know of a handful of games releasing on Xbox that'll be available on Game Pass that cost $70 a pop if purchased alone, then maybe the $360 a year sub is more cost beneficial to you over paying the same or more for the games individually. Plus you have the ability to play any other game offered on the services.

You need to get informed and make a proper decision that works best for you.

Oh I know, it was @toooooot that thought Microsoft would lose subscribers based on users who only keep it to play the new CoD every year.

 

[LordVile95]

It’s not bad for single player games like Doom for example and for annual releases like CoD but if you’re not getting the current game what’s the point? I can see a lot of game pass subscriptions going and not many CoD sales as a result. Plus the entire model has shifted to selling battlepasses so what so game sales matter?

 

[bviktor]

The 30 percent demand comes from above spencer.

MS just has no idea what they are doing. Nadella is so hyper focused on copilot he has lost control of the hydra.

Yes, that's precisely what I said lol.

That they assigned Spencer with impossible tasks. From above, obviously, that's where assignments come from, you know.

 

[Eldrach]

Call of Duty is not good enough to justify a 10 dollar monthly price hike. I know this is probably the biggest earner, because people like paying for the same game every year - but personally I think gamepass is better off with huge catalogue at a more reasonable price point

 

[GFitzpatrick47]

How is paying $30 a month for a year ($360) cheaper than buying the game once? ($80)

Plenty of people can finish a game (or simply get bored of it) well before you reach the full purchase price, so for someone like me in that category, it would take 4-5 months subscribing to reach that full purchase price. In the last 5 years, there's only been two games that have exceeded that amount, and they're both Forza titles (Horizon 5 and Motorsport), and by the time I came back to them after that initial wave, they were both heavily discounted.

The reality is that people tend to overestimate how much continuous time they're gonna sink into a given game, and once they realize this, Game Pass becomes incredibly attractive.

 

[Burty117]

Plenty of people can finish a game (or simply get bored of it) well before you reach the full purchase price, so for someone like me in that category, it would take 4-5 months subscribing to reach that full purchase price. In the last 5 years, there's only been two games that have exceeded that amount, and they're both Forza titles (Horizon 5 and Motorsport), and by the time I came back to them after that initial wave, they were both heavily discounted.

The reality is that people tend to overestimate how much continuous time they're gonna sink into a given game, and once they realize this, Game Pass becomes incredibly attractive.

Look at the comment I was replying to, I wasn't the one stating people only play one game on GamePass.