Xbox Announces Price Reductions For Game Pass Ultimate & PC Game Pass

The yo-yo pricing model. I wonder how long it’ll be until they raise it again.

Good on them, great to see some positive news for team green for a change!

Wow, honestly didn’t expected them to backtrack this fast, Game Pass may be worth it again for many people, in particular PC Game Pass’ value is unbeatable.

I’d have removed Fortnite Crew from Ultimate and drop the price $3-5 even further.

Well done Asha and Xbox, this was the right call

Edit: showing £16.99 on my app, still £10.99 for premium and £6.99 for essential

Don't think we will ever get a real answer but really would love to hear why where the prices increased that far to begin with.

I highly doubt it Phil's or Sarah's to increase prices so drastically. That call, as well as the 30% profit margins for all game studios, were likely coming from the top at MS and I would love to know why. Again, don't expect we will ever get anything nore than rummors.

Best I heard is that Satia has delegated many of his previous roles and started working closer with operations and in that process has realized how much MS has messed up all over (reason we are also nearly simultaneously seeing changes in the Windows side of things).

A big step in the right direction personally. Don’t really care for COD (and its been a pretty crap for a while apparently) so losing it is fine by me

so they are losing a ton on the Call of Duty franchise being included so they took it out to entice gamers to get back with the pass on other games. They give a ton of value but you gotta wonder how much taking out the COD franchise will hurt it.

I didn't expect this but it's extremely welcome. I haven't played a Call of Duty game since the first one on Xbox 360 - even after they became available for free to me as part of game pass.

I personally feel they should look at removing day-one for all AAA titles and reduce the cost for GP even further.

Want to play the latest big AAA game? Then buy it. Don't want to? Then go without

This entitlement by gamers that Microsoft has built up with GP needs to be knocked on the head. A video gaming subscription should be an option in addition to, not the foundation of your entire business model.

What if you have months stacked on your account? Are they going to extend the membership? You cant have me pay extra and then remove day one games. They should pro rate extend already months stacked.

I think the corporations are finally realizing they have bleed us dry. Nintendo announced a $60 game today, low for them, and is making a habit of giving digital discounts.

I bet you they lost so many ultimate subs with the price increase that this was the only viable way to try and build that level back up, and removing COD kind of offsets it. Wouldn't be surprised if it goes back up in the future.

@GeminiX53 Perfectly said my friend.

@GeminiX53 must be a quiet day over at push square

As somebody who hasnt played COD since the OG MW2 days, this certainly makes it more appealing to resubscribe at some point. Whisper it quietly, but maybe the new head xbox lady could be a good appointment, but its way too early to say definitively

@Balaam_ it feels like going so high was just smoke and mirrors so they could pull COD from GP and still get the good press of lowering the price back down.

Erghh... personally not sure if this benefits me ....as I have two kids who want cod day 1 every year....on top of myself probably assuming they return to a normal campaign

Removing COD AND dropping the price back down? This is a win-win for fans! I cancelled my sub back in October, but I will more than likely resub sometime in the next couple weeks once I've cleared Pragmata from my playlist.

Definitely looks good on Asha, but people need to remember the shareholders are calling the shots. Phil was done dirty by being forced into a lot of the decisions the brand was forced to make and it seems like they're scapegoating him by giving her more free reign, but I have no doubt they'll do the same thing to Asha in due time.

Can we get a weather check in Hell? I suspect it’s snowing.

Yes! Nice job Asha - love how quick the decision was executed.

CoD demographic is fundamentally different than the gamers who love all the variety and experimentation of Game Pass.

The previous reports were likely intentional leaks to gauge customer reactions ahead of the change.

@PennywiZe666

I rarely visit the place as a) I only have a PS4 and b) it's clown city. But I understand what you're implying.

Well let me be the first to burst your bubble, son...

I predominantly game on PC and Xbox. I don't even own a PlayStation 5. You can even check my comment history to confirm this if you like.
😁

Good on them but as someone that cancelled their subscription when it hit 20$/month this makes no difference whatsoever

@Balta666

The subs they lost at the $20 price point must not have been significant at the time because they obviously thought they could get away a $30 price point not much later. The lost subscriptions at that time were no doubt offset by the price hike in a way that the $30 sub did not manage to recover. Regressing back to the $20 price tag won't bring back all of the subs they lost, but they're hoping it will bring them back to a leveling off point. For $22 a month, I can certainly justify firing my subscription back up.

A smart move, if you want to play COD then the price is effectively the same and for the many who have no interest, Gamepass is back to a reasonable price

While this is undeniably good news I still don't see myself returning to Ultimate. Premium is a better fit for me & how purchase / play games on Xbox these days.

@StylesT I think this is a benefit from the 7 dollars saved a month you save 84 dollars. so you can buy cod each year and save 14 dollars

I still want the same price on consoles as they have on PC, but it's good news.

Asha is off to a great start. There is a long road ahead of her, but she is making positive changes right out of the gate. I think this price change is smart, along with CoD not being day one on GP. It’s a nice strategic shift. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Asha has in store for Xbox.

Wow that was swift. We seem to be hearing rumours or announcements and they are happening quickly. Just checked the PC game pass tier and it is showing as £10.99 so the same price as Premium which makes it far better value if you just play on PC.

@themightyant My annoyance with the whole thing is that at their prime, Phil and Sarah were doing great precisely when they had freedom. The ship started going through rough waters because the freedom was very obviously taken away from them.

Yea, Asha is being given the freedom now, but how long will it last? And would we also be seing these same improvements had Phil and Sarah had just been given the freedom instead? I like to see some of these changes but not sure creating so much division in the community was the way to get here.

I know I'm not the only one that feels Asha has a lot more work to do to earn trust from scratch than Phil had to given he already had delivered in the past.

Side note, I feel the PC tier is in an odd spot. Not a bad one, but it entirely devaluates all the xbox tiers. I know it's not the case for everyone but both my PCs heavily outclass my Xbox. Why should I even turn my xbox on if I can subscribe to PC GP and get day one on all first party games on PC? The odd third party game that is only on console day one IF I pay for the ultimate tier? Until Helix comes around and they are forced to rework these tiers again, I feel actively discouraged from using my Xbox.

This is genius! Remove the day one AAA titles... reduce the price... maybe even give it its own tier name - something like "Xbox Game Pass Premium?" I think you're really on to something here! Microsoft, hire this man!

@themightyant

Not good enough. One tier, one price. No day one.

@GeminiX53 @Jenkinss I'd personally say there's a good middle ground. Why not be able to choose x new 1st party releases per year as part of your membership? As long as you have a sub active, you have access to all game pass games, plus the first-party games you choose.

On another note, removing COD is an admission that it didn't fit into the Game Pass ecosystem as planned. Wonder how much of that vision drove the purchase of ActiBlizz, and how they utilise their studios going forwards

@pamonmedia Since there weren't a lot of people who subscribed to Game Pass just for CoD in the first place, I don't think there will be a lot people who'll unsubscribe. Also, CoD fans may still sub to Game Pass for older CoD games. Activision notoriously doesn't discount the games much on digital storefront, so unless you want to buy physically, you'd still save money by playing this year's CoD on Game Pass next year

Get rid of Fortnite Crew and drop it another $5!!

@Jenkinss

It's a kneecapped version of the whole package.

There should one package, one tier, one affordable price and no day-one at all. Nothing more. As I said above it should be an addition to, not the foundation of the entire Xbox brand, which is what it has become and at detriment to everything.

Gamers need to learn again that if you want to play the latest, biggest and best you have to pay for it. No more free handouts for entitled children.
At the very most the occasional big hitters lands, like a sort of seasonal thing.

Nice try, but you're not nearly as clever as you thought you were in that moment.

It was obviously back tracked due to the drop off from the price rise (honestly premium became really good value) and the fact CoD sales tanked.

But it’s good news non the less.

@themightyant

And how has giving Xbox gamers unbridled choice worked out for many a developer/publisher? Not too well from the look of things because they literally stopped buying games and who can blame them?

Has to be the first time a Steaming Service Lowered the price in this climate. Nice.

People voted with their feet. I won't go back.

Just speaking for myself, but I feel the damage may already be done. Gamepass was why I entered into the Xbox eco-system in the first place and I kept subscribed up until the most recent increase. Now that I'm not subscribed anymore I've realised just how little I miss it, and I just don't feel inclined to re-subscribe, even at the lower cost

@GeminiX53 Having a one tier system would be great for marketing alongside consoles (particularly Series S) and make it easier for casual players to sign up

@GeminiX53 I get what you're saying, but I would personally still find value in day 1 Xbox game studios stuff (minus COD)

I don't think it's an entitled children thing, it was just such an easy and cheap way to play a load of new games, that I knew I wouldn't need to go back to once played.

Off topic, but outside of my PC I just like to share, for clarification, an image showing were I do the brunt of my gaming...

Hope that clears up any doubt for the doubters out there.

Great news on GPU price reduction today, I’m not a big COD fan so suits me.
Of late Xbox have been doing things that suit me, so that’s good.

Actually save money even if you're a big call of duty fan and need it day 1. $7 saved per month on gamepass is $84 per year. Call of Duty physical is $75 with tax or less if you wait a couple months for the holiday sales.

@themightyant

Concrete data, no, but I think it's pretty obvious by the general attitude of the brunt of subscribers that they're buying less and less new games and because of the giveaway-thon that is Game Pass.
If you want things to carry on as they are then you can continue to see an amalgamation of rising costs and floundering IP.

GP has had a good run, but it clearly needs to change along with changing gamer's mindsets.

Good News ! Asha’s arrival is really doing a lot of good! Thank you!

I would have loved to see $19.99 be the price even if it required a few more cuts (fortnite crew, in game benefits, etc.)

But I will gladly take the discount. I will be going back to ultimate in a couple weeks when my pc gamepass sub runs out.

Well, it became more reasonable in my country. Good news. Asha's on fire.

@themightyant The boosted gamerscore was one move that will keep me skeptical for years. It was a level of dishonesty that will be hard to forget, even if I'm sure most people wont ever even hear of it.

I still have a huge collection of digital xbox games, and Hylix will likely eventually bring my pc and xbox experiences closer together with fallbacks to go PC only if they really ruin things... but I can't stop wondering how long will it take for this perceived freedom to be taken away from her be it because she fixes things or because they feel she is not fixing things fast enough. Sooner or later parent MS might once more decide to force an illogical corporate direction.

Almost none. ABK was bought for its mobile stable, and MS attempting to open their own mobile storefront to compete with Google and Apple. All momentum on this has seemingly stalled after their lawsuits and from what I can tell no one seems to be talking about it. More people play CoD on mobile than on PC, PS, and Xbox combined. Candy Crush, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, etc. CoD on game pass is an afterthought in that $69B purchase. Xbox in general is an afterthought. We know from the FTC trial Phil did not target ABK, Amy Hood did to redirect the gaming division to mobile which she sees as valuable and a growth space vs consoles which she does not.

I paid for a year of game pass ultimate literally yesterday.
My head is so gone right now

It's the exact thing you asked for.

Now make up some new argument.

@Coletrain

I don't think it's an entitled children thing

The amount of times over the years since it launched I've seen subscribers across numerous gaming outlets staring they won't touch/play [insert game] if it's not on GP sounds pretty entitled to me.

That’s great! I dropped to premium (I’ve just retired and want to manage the pennies) but I’ll go back to ultimate now. I never wanted CoD in the first place!

@Jenkinss

It's the exact thing you asked for

No, it is not. It's part of a tiered system. I'm saying get rid of the tiers altogether and only have the current basic one, albeit with a few tweaks.

You're only serving to prove my point about how entitled GP has made gamers. "Waaah, but I don't want to pay for my games!"

@GeminiX53 I would suggest the Pragmata release adds weight to your argument. Game releases does over a million sales.
Steam no 3 in top sellers
Hits PS gameplay charts at 19
XBOX charts.......position 102
Without a doubt that would be top 10 if on GPU

In an age where everything seems to be going up, this is welcome news. As someone who hasn’t played COD in years I won’t exactly miss it either. Now get rid of the Fortnite perks and reduce it even further 😉

Good luck to Team Xbox in getting lost players back in the fold

@themightyant

Oh come on, you know damn well there's been a whole string of AAA big hitters that in another time Xbox users would have bought day one had they not been available on GP. As entitled as GP has made gamers Microsoft are really to blame for creating this mentality.

Stop making excuses. GP has clearly been detrimental to gaming more than creating a positive environment. No wants to admit though, particulay long term GP subscribers who've been enjoying their all you can eat buffet that doesn't cost them anything, with the only cost being to restaurant owners and their partners who are struggling to keep the ship afloat.

Wow, that was a pretty quick turnaround between the reporting on Asha Sharma saying GP was too expensive and them actually lowering the price. Fair play.

It still devalues games and is detrimental to the industry, but at least it's cheaper now!

@LeonR

Those quite telling figure won't be good enough for this lot here.
As to my analogy above they're enjoying their buffet. They don't care what it costs to anyone else long term.

@themightyant

As per the example posted here the Pragmata sales figures across Steam, PS and Xbox is just another prime example of the negative effect of GP. The difference from PC and PS to Xbox is HUGE.

Are you sure you still want to head down this path of pretending the GP model isn't having a huge effect?

@RBRTMNZ or they realized that the current economic environment is bleeding us dry... and in order for them to continue to survive. They have to be the ones to bend the knee.

Bring back the $1/m promotions.

@themightyant

Steam no 3 in top seller, PS charts at 19...drum roll ...XBOX charts 102

Now you're going the for the "dude-bro" angle. 🤦

Look, why can't you just admit that GP has had a detrimental effect on video game sales across the board where Xbox is concerned rather than all this dancing about?

It's not going to hurt. The gaming Gods are not going strike you down. 😂

We should be looking for ways to support our beloved industry, not continually making excuses when it drops the ball.

Let's put this way:

I buy ALL my new games outright and since owning an S I've bought a whole bunch of older games as well (see pic above). Games that are also available via GP, but I chose to buy instead.

You don't and as a GP user buy a lot less on Xbox.

Who's contributing more here, you or me?

In my opinion, this is an extremely logical move.

The price reduction is active in my country. Thinking about subscribing to Ultimate again soon. Welcome news. Not gonna lie: I didn't think they'd back down on the price hike.

@themightyant

I'll ask again, and bear in mind there is only one right answer here.

I buy ALL my new games outright and since owning an S I've bought a whole bunch of older games as well (see pic above). Games that are also available via GP, but I chose to buy instead.

You don't and as a GP user buy a lot less on Xbox.

Who's contributing more here, you or me?

This is a good first step.

@themightyant

Okay, you're just going to keep making excuses for GP in its current and quite clearly destructive form so I let you carry on. I get it though. Having something practically free one day then snatched away the next will smart a tad.

Doesn't matter, though, as it looks like you and everyone else who's been enjoying the "all you can eat buffet" will soon have to start getting your wallet out again when it comes to those Xbox big hitters.

Same to you of course and no hard feelings for my part. I'm just about to jump back into Recore as it happens.

@GeminiX53 trust me bro stats. A quick glance on both uk and us store has pragmata at 41 42 on the best sellers. Ever thought there are so many games releasing month after month that people are still playing the backlogs and not to mention the f2ps but yeah blame game pass for everything. Yawn

@Backfor1day

I'm not blaming GP for everything, but it obviously plays it's lions share.

What's "yawn" here is people like yourself refusing to acknowledge this and for one reason and one reason only: you're getting a free ride and don't want it to change.

Well tough, it is. Time to stump up or shut up. 😊

@themightyant

Sorry, I meant Recore (was playing Atomfall yesterday). Updated the comment to reflect this.

Atomfall is actually very good, if you're happy with a game that slightly looks like but definitely feels like a 7th gen video game.