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The Xbox logo is seen during the Tokyo Game Show 2024 at Makuhari Messe on September 26, 2024 in Chiba, Japan. The gaming exhibition is one of the world's largest and will be held through September 29th
Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty Images
The long-term plan for Xbox Game Pass has been 'revealed' by a renowned insider after it was confirmed the price of the Ultimate subscription would be cut with immediate effect.
In October 2025, the price of Game Pass Ultimate rose from $19.99 to a whopping $29.99 in the US, prompting widespread backlash from gamers with a significant number cancelling their subscriptions because of the rise. PC Game Pass went up to $16.49 from $11.99 but Premium ($14.99) and Standard ($9.99) tiers remained the same.
Xbox confirmed on Tuesday (21 April) the price of Game Pass Ultimate will drop from $29.99 to $22.99 and PC Game Pass will also drop to $13.99 a month with this change happening immediately.
However future Call of Duty titles will no longer be available day one. They will become available around a year after their initial release. Existing Call of Duty titles will remain available.
In a post on X / Twitter, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said: "Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players. We'll keep learning and evolving Game Pass to better match what matters to players."
The change has gone down incredibly well among gamers on social media and, according to renowned Xbox insider Jez Corden of Windows Central, the changes won't stop there.
Corden reports: "Microsoft sources tell me that the longer-term goal for Xbox Game Pass is to make it more flexible. A sort of 'pick your own plan' formula for Xbox Game Pass is on the cards, essentially, where users can effectively decide what packages of content they want to see as part of their plan.
"Microsoft has leaked 'Duet' and 'Triton' codenames for Xbox Game Pass via its back-end APIs recently, suggesting that packages of services are in the plan's future."
Corden's report was posted in the GamingLeaksAndRumours Subreddit and gamers have been having their say in the comments.
One said: "It'll be interesting because it will show just how little value Fortnite add-ons cost them."
"Netflix-Xbox-World of Warcraft combo for a discount price and you got yourself a deal," declared a second.
A third commented: "Its like renting at Blockbuster before everyone started downloading."
"Just give me the version of Ultimate before they started d****** around with it," a fourth posted.
And a fifth said: "If they can include Minecraft Realms so my family and friends can have access to it, then I wouldn't mind."
The long-term future of Xbox Game Pass has not been officially confirmed.
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