Xbox Game Pass Price Increases Leave Fans Furious

The latest price bump in the last year for Xbox Game Pass has left many fans very unhappy. Announced just a week after Xbox confirmed that the service was indeed profitable, a huge price bump (constituting 100% in some regions) was revealed. For the UK, this sees the ‘ultimate’ tier of the service rise from £15 to £23- which constitutes an additional £96 a year for those paying via a monthly model. It will also be rising to $30 in the US. 

As a result of these changes, Xbox are also adjusting their lower tiers. There will now be Game Pass Essential for £7, Premium for £11 and, of course, Ultimate for £23 per month. Essential is the same price as the previously named ‘core’ tier with essentially the same perks. This also includes 50+ games but none of these will be day one offerings. It also includes online play as does every other tier of the service.

The next tier up, premium, is likely what a lot of players will be more comfortable with.  This will include 200+ games with Xbox first party offerings coming within 12 months of launch. This means, for example, games like the upcoming ‘Elder Scrolls VI’ will be coming to premium subscribers up to a year later than those with ultimate. Of course, ultimate is twice the price but does promise 400+ games in their library as well as 75+ day one games per year including all Xbox first party offerings.

Microsoft has justified these price hikes by adding additional AAA games to the service as well as increasing the number of day one Game Pass offerings. However, a lot of fans are not happy. The number of cancellations has reportedly skyrocketed, and online forums have been flooded with many unhappy fans who see the price bump as completely unjustified. These price increases have already begun for new subscribers but will not be implemented until November 4th for existing subscribers.