Xbox Game Pass is about to undergo even more changes to its subscription models and prices, only a year or so after Microsoft dropped Xbox Live Gold and introduced the Game Pass Core tier, and just weeks after confirming that the service would be getting a massive shot in the arm with the next Call of Duty title launching into the service on day one.
Now, the company is axing the Game Pass for Console tier as of today, and rolling out a new Xbox Game Pass “Standard” soon which includes back catalogue titles and online multiplayer but doesn’t cover day one releases like the current Console/PC and Ultimate tiers do. On top of this, a number of tiers are getting price increases.
The reporting on changes first came from Windows Central and has been since been verified by Microsoft, with support pages now reflecting the new pricing structure for each region. Here’s what’s changing as of today, July 10th:
- Xbox Game Pass for Console is being removed. Existing users still subscribed will get to keep their subscription but no new sign-ups will happen.
- Instead, the mid-range option will now be Xbox Game Pass Standard which includes “back catalogue” Game Pass content with no Day One releases, and no Xbox Cloud Gaming, but does include Xbox Live multiplayer. It’ll cost $14.99 USD per month (Aussie pricing TBD) and be introduced “in the coming months.”
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is getting a price increase to $22.95 per month, up from $18.95.
- PC Game Pass is increasing to $13.95 per month, up from $10.95
- Xbox Game Pass Core is getting an annual price increase to $89.95 per year, up from $79.95.
- It will no longer be possible to stack Game Pass subscriptions for longer than 13 months. If you currently have more time stacked it will remain that way.
While the price increases will occur for new subscriptions starting today, existing members will see their rates update on September 12th provided their membership is still current.
We’ll continue to update this story as we hear more, but one quick and easy recommendation for current Game Pass enjoyers is to take advantage of the current pricing and stack up time while you can. You can get pre-paid cards for Game Pass Ultimate from Amazon with instant digital delivery below: