Xbox Game Pass Faces Backlash After Price Hike and New Tier Restrictions

Microsoft’s popular gaming subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, is coming under fire from longtime fans after the company announced a series of significant changes, including a price increase and a revised tier structure that many say limits access to key features.

Effective next month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate—the top-tier offering that includes access to games on console, PC, and cloud—will see a price bump from $16.99 to $19.99 per month. Standard Xbox Game Pass for Console subscribers are seeing an even more dramatic shift: the service is being phased out entirely for new members, forcing them to either upgrade to the pricier Ultimate tier or subscribe to the newly announced “Xbox Game Pass Standard” tier, which limits access to day-one releases. Existing subscribers will continue to have access “for now,” but Microsoft hasn’t confirmed how long that grace period will last.

The news has rippled across gaming forums and social media, with fans expressing frustration over what many perceive to be a shift away from the platform’s core selling point—unmatched value. Since its launch, Xbox Game Pass has been lauded for including blockbuster titles on day one at no extra cost. With the new Standard tier lacking this perk, many Xbox gamers feel the service is losing its competitive edge.

“This is a massive downgrade disguised as an upgrade,” posted one Reddit user on r/XboxSeriesX. “Paying more and getting less—it’s not what made Xbox Game Pass special in the first place.”

Microsoft has defended the changes, stating they are necessary to support the “continued growth and sustainability” of the service as game development costs increase. The company also pointed to the addition of new titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as justification for the higher costs.

With Xbox Game Pass now entering a new era, questions linger about its future. Will loyal subscribers stick with the platform despite rising prices and fewer perks? Or could this be the beginning of a slowdown for what was once considered the best deal in gaming?