Summary
Xbox Game Passhas just passed its seventh anniversary, and it’s celebrated the occasion in a rather dismal way. For years now,Xbox Game Passhas been lovingly referred to as one of the “best deals in gaming,” offering players over 100 titles for just one reasonable price tag, including Indie gems, big third-party hits, and first-party exclusives. But unfortunately, that deal is only getting worse as time goes on.
Xbox Game Pass' Recent Changes Are Still Shrouded in Confusion
Xbox Game Pass' New Tier and Price Changes Explained
Before diving into Microsoft’s poor handling of the situation, it’s important to break down exactly what’s changing for Xbox Game Pass. The most important detail is that there will be a price increase across the board for all tiers of Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass Core will remain at $10 per month, but its annual price is increasing to $75.Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is increasing from $16.99 to $19.99 per month. And PC Game Pass will be increasing from $9.99 to $11.99.
Another key change coming is the addition of a new tier for Xbox Game Pass, and the removal of Xbox Game Pass Console. Officially called Xbox Game Pass Standard, this new tier will cost $14.99 per month and will grant players the full Game Pass library, but will not include day-one releases. Instead, first-party Xbox games will arrive on the Standard tier at a later date. According to recentcomments from Windows Central’s Jez Corden, the date these first-party games will arrive at the Standard tier will be chosen on a case-by-case basis, likely between 6-12 months, and sometimes even longer.
Microsoft Could Have Handled These Game Pass Changes Better
Generally speaking, these changes and price hikes for Xbox Game Pass obviously aren’t great for consumers, but many fans have seen this coming for a while now, so they’ve been able to prepare themselves in advance. But Microsoft has done little to help soften the blow. In fact, it’s handled the entire situation rather poorly. Rather than announce theseXbox Game Pass changesclearly, Microsoft has barely spoken about them publicly, instead letting outlets spread the word about them and directing confused fans toward Microsoft’s barebones FAQ page related to the changes.
These aren’t the most easy-to-understand changes either, and Microsoft has done little to officially clarify some of the more unclear parts of these Game Pass changes. Again, it’s been a task put onto industry insiders and creators to try and make sense of these changes and deliver them in a coherent manner, such asTwitter user and Xbox insider Klobrille, who took it upon themselves to create a chart showcasing the new tier and price increases. Microsoft should have delivered these changes more clearly and used its various social media profiles to announce them properly rather than let it fall to the community.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
