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.