If you’ve been sitting on the fence about Xbox Game Pass, today might be the day that changes your mind.
Microsoft just announced a surprise price cut for Game Pass Ultimate, dropping the monthly cost from $29.99 to $22.99. That’s $7 back in your pocket every month, or $84 a year. For a lot of players, that’s a meaningful difference.
But before you rush to subscribe, there’s something important you need to know first.
The New Prices, Spelled Out
Game Pass Ultimate now costs $22.99 per month, down from $29.99. PC Game Pass dropped too, from $16.49 to $13.99 per month. Both changes are live right now.
If you’re an existing subscriber, the lower rate kicks in starting April 22. New sign-ups today already get in at the reduced price.
Two other tiers, Game Pass Essential at $10/month and Game Pass Premium at $15/month, are staying right where they are. Those tiers don’t include day-one game releases anyway, so the changes don’t really affect that crowd.
Why Did Microsoft Do This?
Players complained. Loudly. And apparently Microsoft was listening.
Asha Sharma, who took over as the new head of Xbox in February after Phil Spencer’s departure, reportedly sent a memo to employees earlier this month saying that Game Pass had become “too expensive for too many players.” That’s a pretty direct admission from inside Microsoft.
The price increase to $29.99 happened back in October, and the backlash never really stopped. Sharma came over from Meta, not a traditional gaming background, and she’s been moving fast since day one. Killing the “This Is An Xbox” marketing campaign was an early call. This price cut is a much louder one.
Microsoft said the decision came from “a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far” and that the company will “continue to listen and learn.”
The Part Nobody Is Happy About
New Call of Duty games will no longer be included in Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass on launch day. Going forward, when a new Call of Duty drops, Game Pass subscribers will have to buy it separately or wait until the following holiday season to play it through the subscription.
That’s roughly a one-year wait after launch before it shows up in the catalog.
To put that in dollars: a new Call of Duty typically runs $69.99. So if you want it day one, you’re paying on top of your subscription. The $7/month you save does add up to $84 a year, which technically covers the cost of one new CoD title with change to spare. But it’s still a change from what subscribers had before.
Existing Call of Duty games already in Game Pass will stay put. No one is losing access to what’s already there.
What Does This Actually Mean for You?
If Call of Duty isn’t your thing, this price cut is straightforwardly good news. You get the same massive library of 500-plus games, day-one releases from Xbox Game Studios, EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, and cloud streaming, all for less money per month than before.
If you do play Call of Duty every year, the math gets messier. The savings help offset the cost of buying new CoD separately, but it’s not a clean win. You’re basically paying for it either way now, just differently.
PC Game Pass in particular looks like a strong deal at $13.99. Several community members pointed out it now matches the Premium console tier in price, which makes it hard to argue against for anyone who primarily games on PC.
Who Is Running Xbox Now?
This is worth paying attention to because the pricing shift reflects a genuine change in direction at the top.
Asha Sharma replaced Phil Spencer in February. She came from Meta, not a traditional gaming background, and she’s moving fast. The “This Is An Xbox” campaign got axed almost immediately after she arrived. Now she’s pulled back on pricing within months of taking over.
You can agree or disagree with her calls, but you can’t say nothing is happening over there.
What Gamers Are Saying
Reaction online has been mostly positive, with a fair amount of cynicism mixed in. People are calling it a “yo-yo pricing model,” noting that the price went up in October and is already coming down in April. Others are pointing out that removing Call of Duty from day-one access is a real loss, even if the monthly savings technically make up for buying it outright.
Some PC gamers are genuinely excited, calling the new PC Game Pass pricing “unbeatable value.” A few subscribers said they’re coming back to Ultimate after dropping it when prices rose last year.
Should You Subscribe?
If you mostly play Xbox first-party games, indie titles, and third-party releases, and you’re not emotionally attached to playing Call of Duty on day one, Game Pass Ultimate at $22.99 is a solid deal. The library is big, the cloud streaming works well, and EA Play alone covers a wide range of games.
If Call of Duty is the reason you’re subscribed, take a moment to do the math for your situation. $22.99 a month plus $69.99 for the new Call of Duty each year still comes out cheaper than it used to be, but the structure is different now.
The price drop is real. The catch is real. Whether the trade-off works for you depends entirely on how you actually play.
Already on Game Pass or thinking about joining? Drop your thoughts in the comments. And if you found this useful, share it with a fellow gamer who’s been debating the subscription.
