Xbox Game Pass is receiving some significant upgrades, but the new and improved Game Pass Ultimate features come with an almighty price hike for gamers.
The new Ultimate tier, described by Microsoft in a blog post as being for “games who want the best of everything”, is now £23 a month in the UK (up from £15) while US subscribers will pay $30 a mont. That is an extra $10 and a 50% price increase. Wow.
Before you reach for the cancel button, there are some pretty significant new benefits. Perhaps most importantly for hardcore gamers, there’s improved streaming quality in Xbox Cloud Gaming, which can now reach 1440p. There’s also improved bitrate and the shortest waiting times. Own game streaming is part of unlimited cloud gaming access.
Microsoft is adding guaranteed access to at least 75 day one game launches a year, whereas previously this only applied to Xbox Game Studios titles. It’s worth pointing out the new Ultimate tier is the only way to get Call of Duty with Game Pass on day one. Overall you’re getting a library of more than 400 Xbox, PC, and cloud games.
Significantly, Ubisoft+ games are also part of the Ultimate subscription, which means you’re getting access to classics from the Tom Clancy, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series. Add to that the bundling of a Fortnite Crew subscription. Ok, now you’re starting to convince us this isn’t such a bad idea.
Ultimate, Premium, Essential explained
Game Pass Standard is becoming Game Pass Premium. That price stays the same at £11/$15. The big takeaway is here is these subscribers are won’t get Call of Duty access. This was bound to happen at some point, but it does mean those paying for Ultimate primarily for Call of Duty will be hardest hit by that 50% price increase. It might be cheaper to just buy the game now.
Without Call of Duty, Premium users will still receive access to a library of 200+ games across Xbox, PC and Cloud. They’ll still receive other benefits, like unlimited access to Xbox Cloud Gaming and the ability to stream their old games.
Finally, game Pass Core is now Game Pass Essential. No price increase here, it’s still $9.99/£6.99. The curated games now total 50 across Xbox, Cloud and PC and there’s still access to cloud gaming, steaming of your own games and online multiplayer.
So, overall a very mixed bag for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The platform has long been praised for offering gamers great value, but a 50% price increase is never easy to swallow even if the extra features help the medicine go down.
