Microsoft dramatically increases price of Xbox Game Pass and changes subscriptions

Price has gone up by a quarter on some subscriptions ahead of release of new Call of Duty

(AFP via Getty Images)

Microsoft has dramatically hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription – and introduced a range of confusing new options.

The changes mean that everyone around the world will have to pay up to 25 per cent more for their access to the service.

And Microsoft also said that some subscribers will no longer get access to new, first-party Xbox games on the day they are released.

Microsoft already pushed up Game Pass subscriptions last year, and the new price increases will come on top of those new prices.

It comes as Xbox prepares to add new games, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, to the service. That is the result of Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard last year, in the biggest deal in gaming history.

Analysts speculated that the changes might be intended to offset the high cost of that purchase and of adding the game to players’ subscription for free, rather than charging for it outright.

The changes depend on what platform and subscription customers are currently subscribed to. But they each bring significant increases to the cost of the service.

Those with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will see their subscription increase by $3, for instance, from $16.99 to $19.99. PC Game Pass subscribers will go from $9.99 to $11.99.

Alongside those subscriptions, Microsoft will launch a new “Game Pass Standard” subscription. That will see new players charged $14.99 per month, but they will not get access to tiles on the first day they are released.

The changes take affect across the world and Microsoft has a page that lays out all price increases across countries and currencies.