On October 1, 2025, Microsoft unveiled major changes to its Xbox Game Pass subscription, including a significant price hike for the Ultimate tier and restructuring of access to new releases.
What’s Changed
- The Ultimate subscription now costs $29.99/month instead of $19.99 — a ~50% increase
- Added to Ultimate: Fortnite Crew, Ubisoft+ Classics, better cloud streaming at 1440p, over 75 day-one releases per year, and higher Rewards payouts
- Legacy tiers were renamed: Core → Essential ($9.99/month), Standard → Premium ($14.99/month)
- Crucially, only Ultimate grants day-one access to new titles. The Premium plan will receive new releases only within a year after launch
Many users voiced their anger:
$20 was fair. $30 is too much. I’m cancelling until there’s a game I want right now
They claim Microsoft is pulling back its “Day One on Game Pass” promise except for its highest tier — and see this as a boilerplate tactic to upsell. Others accuse the company of squeezing users, forcing them to pay extra for functions they previously had or were promised.
