Game Pass Price Cut
- Xbox announced Game Pass Ultimate will drop to $22.99 per month while future Call of Duty titles will skip day‑one launches. (x.com) - The change applies to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers and alters Microsoft’s day‑one availability for upcoming CoD releases. (x.com) - Microsoft appears to be balancing subscription affordability with a new release strategy for tentpole shooters. (x.com)
Microsoft cut Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 a month on April 21, but future Call of Duty games will no longer arrive there on launch day. (news.xbox.com) The new U.S. price is down from $29.99, and PC Game Pass also fell to $13.99 from $16.49, according to Xbox Wire. Microsoft said prices may vary by region and the changes took effect immediately. (news.xbox.com) Microsoft said future Call of Duty releases will join Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass during the “following holiday season,” roughly a year after launch. Existing Call of Duty games already in the library will stay available. (news.xbox.com) That marks a reversal from Microsoft’s October 1, 2025 pitch for the revamped service, when Xbox said Ultimate would include “over 75 day one releases a year” and specifically named Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 among upcoming launch-day additions. (news.xbox.com) Game Pass is Microsoft’s subscription bundle for Xbox and PC games, online console multiplayer, cloud streaming, and publisher perks. Xbox’s current storefront still says Ultimate includes “new games on day one,” but the April 21 update carves out Call of Duty as a separate release window. (xbox.com, news.xbox.com) Microsoft said Ultimate subscribers will still get hundreds of games across console and PC, unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming, online multiplayer, in-game benefits, and “major day one releases.” The company said the new pricing and release timing reflect player feedback and that “there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone.” (news.xbox.com) The move narrows one of the biggest selling points Microsoft had attached to Activision Blizzard’s biggest series after closing that acquisition in October 2023. Since then, the company has used Game Pass to position Xbox as both a hardware business and a subscription platform. (microsoft.com, news.xbox.com) For subscribers, the tradeoff is straightforward: a lower monthly bill now, but a longer wait for the next mainline Call of Duty inside the bundle. Microsoft has not announced a different launch-day plan for future Call of Duty titles beyond the holiday-season delay. (news.xbox.com)
