Xbox Game Pass raises prices for the standard tier and bans day one games

In May, Microsoft confirmed that Call Of Duty would be coming to Game Pass on day one, and that despite rumors it wouldn’t involve creating a new, more expensive subscription tier.

That’s not really true though, as massive changes are coming to the service, which will see price increases across the board and at the end of the first day new first-party game releases for the new Standard tier .

The current Xbox Game Pass for Console service will be canceled and replaced by the more expensive standard Xbox Game Pass on September 12. Importantly, it won’t feature first-party games from day one or cloud gaming options.

The UK price of the new Standard service hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it will be $14.99 in the US, so you’d assume the UK price will be over £10.

For that price, you’ll still be able to freely download existing first-party Xbox games and the usual rotating selection of third-party titles, and you’ll also be able to play online since it includes the Xbox equivalent Live Gold/Game Pass Core .

To access cloud games and new titles from day one, you’ll need to pay for the more expensive Xbox Game Pass Ultimate option, which is currently £12.99 a month, but will now see an increase of priced at £14.99.

Surprisingly, PC Game Pass will still get first-party games on day one, and while it’s also getting a price hike, it’s a more modest increase from £7.99 per month to £9.99 in the UK.

Finally, Xbox Game Pass Core, the subscription service formerly known as Xbox Live Gold, will keep its monthly price at £6.99 in the UK, but will see its annual price increase from £49.99 to £55.99.

In typical Microsoft fashion, it’s all terribly confusing, but while there hasn’t been any public announcement yet, there’s a short FAQ page on the Xbox website, as the changes were first spotted by the Windows Central website.

If you currently have a Core membership, nothing is being removed and you will be able to keep your subscription. However, from September 12th you will only be allowed to collect Xbox Game Pass for the console for a maximum of 13 months.

Although this is the second year in a row that Microsoft has increased the prices of Game Pass, this is a much more significant change in the way the service works, in terms of price, with the Standard service now much less attractive than the outgoing Game Pass for Console.

No doubt it’s a reaction to the fact that Game Pass, and subscription services in general, haven’t fared as well as expected, and that adding Call Of Duty to the service risks losing revenue from Xbox and PC owners who would otherwise they had paid. full price for it.

Microsoft claims that most Game Pass users already use Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes console and PC options, and so from the perspective of those customers the only thing that will change is the price increase.

No matter how it’s spun, though, this is yet more evidence that subscription services aren’t the killer app Microsoft once imagined, and that Game Pass wasn’t sustainable at its previous, lower prices.