Topline
Price increases are headed for Xbox Game Pass users alongside the inclusion of a new tier for the subscription service, creating key price differences between Xbox and rival gaming platform PlayStation that mark the latest price hike amid increasingly expensive subscription plans within the entertainment industry.
Existing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users will begin paying the increased fee this September. (Photo by … [+]
Key Facts
Xbox Game Pass, which allows users to play online and gives varying levels of deals, discounts and video game downloads, will have price increases for its most expensive “ultimate” tier, its cheapest “core” tier and for its PC Game Pass starting Wednesday for new subscribers and in September for existing subscribers, according to a company blog post.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s monthly price will jump from $16.99 a month to $19.99 a month, PC Game Pass will increase from $9.99 to $11.99 and Xbox Game Pass Core will stay at $9.99 monthly but rise from $59.99 to $74.99 a year for annual plans, according to multiple outlets.
A new middle tier, Xbox Game Pass Standard, will be available to players in the near future at $14.99 per month, though it will not include access to day-one titles—the ability to pre-install select video games and play them the day they release without having to outright purchase them.
PlayStation Plus Premium, the $17.99 per month PlayStation equivalent to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, will be the cheaper of the two subscription services following the price increase, securing a $2 per month advantage over Xbox’s most expensive tier.
The middle- and low-tier subscription plans for Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus will cost the same for players.
Existing users on the Xbox Game Pass for Console plan, which is essentially being replaced by the new, $14.99 a month standard tier, will be able to keep their $11 a month subscription and access to day-one games.
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Tangent
Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, have taken issue with the price increases and changes to the Xbox Game Pass tier system, specifically criticizing Microsoft for removing day-one games from its middle tier and making subscription changes before the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October, which will be available to play as a day-one title. The highly anticipated first-person shooter will be available as a day-one title for PC Game Pass users, existing users of Xbox Game Pass for Console and those willing to fork over the updated $19.99 a month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. New users on Xbox Game Pass Core and the upcoming Xbox Game Pass Standard will not have access to day-one titles, but day-one titles like Black Ops 6 and exclusive Xbox games could serve as an incentive for upgrading to Ultimate despite the price hike.
Key Background
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers make up the bulk of Game Pass users, according to The Verge, The Game Pass service as a whole had 34 million subscribers as of February and has previously been lauded as a means of having access to a library of video games both old and new without having to purchase each one. Game Pass prices first increased last year, when the Ultimate tier moved from $14.99 to $16.99 a month and the Core plan jumped from $9.99 to $10.99. PlayStation Plus users experienced their own price hike last year as well, with yearly plans surging in price. Subscription price increases have also spread across the entertainment industry in music, movie and TV streaming services. Music streamer Spotify increased prices for its plans from $1 to $3 across various tiers. Movie and TV streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV have all introduced increased costs for their services within the last year.
Further Reading
Microsoft Is Crippling The Concept Of Xbox Game Pass With New Day One Launch Restrictions (Forbes)
Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and launching a new ‘Standard’ tier (The Verge)