Game Over for Game Pass? Microsoft Raises Prices by 50% as Players Flee in Droves
The Xbox Game Pass is changing! Microsoft is making a bold move — maybe too bold — with a complete overhaul of the service: new tiers, flashy perks, but above all a brutal 50% price hike for the Ultimate plan. A decision that has ignited the community and raised a burning question: is Xbox sinking its own flagship?
Since 2017, the Game Pass carried a simple promise: play more, pay less. Xbox exclusives available from day one turned the subscription into a holy grail for gamers. But the days of an “unbeatable” service seem to be over. Now, the offer is fragmented and soaring in price. The equation has changed — and not in the player’s favor.
Image credit: Microsoft
Three tiers, three visions… a massive price gap
This Wednesday, Microsoft officially announced a full Game Pass overhaul. The old Core and Standard plans are gone. Core subscribers will be moved to Essential, Standard members will shift to Premium, and Ultimate holders keep their status. On paper, Microsoft says the change is meant to provide more flexibility and choice. In practice, it’s a complete shift in philosophy. Let’s break down the new pricing structure:
- Essential, at €9.99/month, now includes over 50 games playable on console, PC, and cloud, plus multiplayer and a few perks.
- Premium stays at €14.99/month and unlocks access to more than 200 titles; Xbox first-party games arrive within the year after launch — but without Call of Duty.
- Ultimate jumps to €29.99/month, offering more than 400 games, day-one releases, Ubisoft+ Classics, Fortnite Crew, and higher-quality cloud streaming.
On paper, the Ultimate tier looks stacked with content. In reality, it’s stacked with costs: nearly €360 a year, the equivalent of four brand-new AAA games. The original promise of savings? Shattered.
Angry players, ready to walk away
The news hit hard. So hard that the official cancellation site went down just hours after the announcement:
The website to cancel Xbox Game Pass subscriptions has overloaded.
This is after the news that the Ultimate subscription would be increased to $29.99/month pic.twitter.com/O3Ikhv2m14 — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 1, 2025
And the reactions left no room for doubt:
- “I’ve never canceled a subscription this fast in my life,” said one user.
- “I’ve had Ultimate for years… once the site’s back up, I’m canceling too,” said a longtime Xbox fan since 2002, disheartened.
- Others joked: “Oh no, the site’s down… guess I can’t cancel for 30 days!”
- And some cut straight to the point: “The market has spoken. Good luck, Xbox 💀.”
Social media is filled with the same tune: frustration, betrayal, and mass cancellations. Xbox is playing a very dangerous game.
The timing stings even more as it comes alongside the slow death of Xbox exclusives. Phil Spencer himself admitted there’s no longer a “red line” between Xbox and PlayStation, opening the door for historic franchises like Halo to appear on rival consoles.
Already, Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, Doom: The Dark Ages, and even Hellblade 2 and Gears of War E-Day have launched on PS5. And soon, Starfield is expected to land on Sony’s console in 2026.
The result: Game Pass is no longer the vault of Xbox exclusives, but rather a giant rental service filled with games that are increasingly available elsewhere. And at $30/month, that weakens its appeal.
A strategic bet… or a suicidal one?
With these announcements, Microsoft seems to be drifting away from its console DNA toward a PC- and cloud-centered model. A “Netflix of gaming” strategy that, instead of reassuring players, sparks one big worry: what if Xbox is repeating Sega’s fate? Against a more consistent PlayStation and a Nintendo that still reigns supreme with exclusives, Xbox looks shaky. Shifting strategy every six months, hiking prices at lightning speed, and piling on gimmicky perks is not a recipe for success — it’s a recipe for losing trust.
The most worrying sign? It’s the old faithful fans walking away. The ones who paid for Ultimate since day one. The ones who were on Xbox Live back in 2002. They’re the ones slamming the door shut. And their message is crystal clear: loyalty has a price — and Microsoft just went past it.
October 1, 2025, will be remembered as a turning point: either the day Xbox transformed Game Pass into a long-term cash machine, or the day the brand started losing its most valuable players. And in this industry, the line between visionary and suicidal is razor thin.
