Microsoft has announced plans to make big changes to its hugely popular Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Beginning on September 12, the price of Xbox Game Pass Core and Ultimate subscriptions will increase throughout the world. The price of Xbox Game Pass Core (which grants access to a small library of games, as well as online multiplayer) will increase from £49.99 to £55.99 for an annual membership. Likewise, the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will jump from £12.99 a month to £14.99 a month. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will continue to get the same benefits as before, including day-one first-party releases, member discounts, Cloud Gaming, EA Play, online multiplayer and access to “specific entries to the Game Pass Ultimate library”.
Elsewhere, Microsoft has discontinued its regular Xbox Game Pass membership for consoles. And this is where things start to get messy.
Priced at £8.99 a month, the regular Game Pass subscription for consoles contained all of the benefits of Ultimate (including day-one releases), just without online multiplayer and Cloud Gaming.
The option to purchase a standard Xbox Game Pass membership for consoles has been removed from the Xbox website, although existing subscriptions will be honoured until the membership period comes to an end. Likewise, anybody with a pre-paid Xbox Game Pass code can redeem it as normal, although from September 12, you’ll only be able to stack Xbox Game Pass for Console for a maximum of 13 months. (You still following?)
The regular Xbox Game Pass subscription will eventually be replaced by Xbox Game Pass Standard, although pricing is yet to be announced.
Crucially, however, Xbox Game Pass Standard subscribers won’t have access to brand new first-party games on the day of release.
The only way to get the likes of Call of Duty, Forza or Gears of War on the day of launch will be to either buy the games outright, or sign up for the more expensive Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
On the plus side, Xbox Game Pass Standard will include access to online multiplayer. It’s all a bit confusing.
In a post on the Xbox website, Microsoft explains the differences between Xbox Game Pass Standard and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: “Xbox Game Pass Standard includes hundreds of high-quality games, online console multiplayer, and select member deals and discounts.
“In addition to having all the benefits in Game Pass Standard, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also includes day one titles, specific entries to the Game Pass Ultimate library, access to EA Play, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Perks, Quests, and discounts on games in the Game Pass library.”
If you are thinking of signing up to Xbox Game Pass, then you might want to purchase your membership now in order to avoid some of the price increases.
If you want to save even more money (and don’t care about online multiplayer), then it might also be worth hunting down a Game Pass Console code.
After spending billions acquiring the likes of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, it feels like Microsoft is starting to feel the pinch financially.
Not only are we starting to see Xbox games appear on rival consoles, but Microsoft recently shut down a number of studios, including Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks.
Let’s hope prices don’t increase again next year, although we certainly wouldn’t be surprised.