Xbox Game Pass tiers jump up to 50% in price

• Most Game Pass tiers have new names
• Only the ‘PC’ and ‘Ultimate’ tiers will receive Xbox-published games day one, such as Call of Duty
• All tiers, apart from the entry-level subscription, have increased in price, some with over a 50% increase

Game Pass is going up in price, and unlike recent Xbox console inflation, which was US-specific, this applies globally.

It’s part of a refactoring of the service, which has millions of subscribers across PC and console – the last reported figure sitting at 34 million from February 2024.

There are four tiers within the new structure, with different features, prices and names part of the alteration.

• Game Pass Core is now called Essential
• Standard is now called Premium
• PC Only and Ultimate keep the same names

What remains is the need to subscribe to at least the Essential level to access online multiplayer on an Xbox console and Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform.

Also included with that subscription is access to a curated library of ~50 games – although not the larger library or necessarily new games upon release, like the more expensive tiers.

Next is Premium, which includes those benefits, but with a larger game library of ~200 games. New release Xbox-published games won’t be there from day one either, but are promised for “within 12 months of launch.”

The first tier to receive the Xbox-published games at launch is the PC-only plan, which also includes an EA Play subscription, and then Ultimate, with a touted 400+ game library plus EA Play and a new addition, Ubisoft+ Classics. Ultimate also gains Fortnite Crew for additional in-game perks.

The number of games to be included in this range-topping subscription is said to have been increased, thanks in part to the addition of the older Ubisoft titles. Meanwhile, unlimited cloud gaming and some PC titles are being added to the lower levels.

In terms of pricing changes, Essential stays the same, but there’s a ~25% bump for Standard vs Premium and a ~50% increase for Ultimate:

• Game Pass Essential – $9.99 / £6.99
• Game Pass Premium – was $11.99 (U.S.) / £9.99, now $14.99 / £10.99 (Up 25% and 10% respectively)
• Game Pass PC Only – was $11.99 / £9.99, now $16.49 / £13.49 (Up 37% and 35% respectively)
• Game Pass Ultimate – was $19.99 / £14.99, now $29.99 / £22.99 (Up 50% and 53% respectively) 

Microsoft dubbed the changes as an “opportunity for Game Pass to help more players find the creators and games they love.”

Racing games currently included on the Ultimate subscription include the likes of Wreckfest, Forza Horizon 5, EA SPORTS F1 24, Forza Motorsport and DiRT Rally 2.0. The only racing games on the Essential tier are Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and Wreckfest.