As
per
rumours
from
earlier
this
year,
Xbox
has
begun
making
sweeping
changes
to
its
subscription
service.
The
biggest
change
is
that
day
1
releases
of
Xbox
exclusives
will
only
be
available
to
those
who
pay
the
highest
price.
Skip
to
the
bottom
of
the
article
if
you
want
an
easy-to-read
chart.

The
news
isn’t
very
shocking
as
most
of
us
had
already
assumed
Microsoft
would
hike
the
prices
up
to
help
mitigate
the
cost
of
adding
Call
of
Duty
into
the
service.
As
it
stands,
Game
Pass
likely
costs
a
lot
of
money
for
Xbox
to
run,
and
is
widely
assumed
to
not
turn
a
profit.
While
the
service
has
risen
in
price
before,
it
has
remained
a
bargain
for
the
average
consumer,
offering
instant
access
to
hundreds
of
amazing
titles.
By
far
the
biggest
advantage
was
that
for
a
low
price
subscribers
could
play
the
latest
Xbox
exclusive
games.
Just
last
year,
for
example,
you
could
either
buy
Starfield
for
$70
or
you
could
just
grab
a
month
of
Xbox
Game
Pass
for
Console
for
$10
and
play
it.

So,
what
is
changing?

First,
Game
Pass
Core,
which
lets
you
play
online
and

grants
access
to
a
small
library
of
select
titles.,
is
going
to
stay
at
$9.99.
The
annual
price
is
going
to
go
up
to

$74.99
though,
which
is
a
substantial
rise
from
its
previous
price
of
$59.99.

Xbox
Game
Pass
for
Console
will
no
longer
be
an
option
for
new
customers.
Current
subscribers
will
be
able
to
keep
their
subscription
going
however,
and
that
includes
day
one

Xbox
exclusive
games.
From
September
12,
Microsoft
will
only
allow
Xbox
Game
Pass
for
Console
users
to
stack
up
to
13
months
of
subscription.
After
that,
Xbox
Game
Pass
for
Console
will
be
phased
out
entirely.

From
September
onwards
a
new
tier
called

Game
Pass
Standard
will
be
introduced
and
will
cost

$14.99
per
month.
This
will
include
Xbox’s
massive
back
catalogue
of
games
but
it
will
no
longer
let
players
instantly
access
new
exclusives
on
day
one.
It
will,
however,
include

Game
Pass
Core
so
that
people
can
play
online,
unlike

Xbox
Game
Pass
for
Console
which
required
people
subscribe
separately
to

Game
Pass
Core
if
they
wanted
to
play
multiplayer
games.

This
new
Standard
scheme
will
launch
“in
the
coming
months”
just
before
Call
of
Duty:
Black
Ops
6
lands
in
October.

PC
Game
Pass
is
also
going
to
see
a
price
hike,
going
from

$9.99
a
month
to
$11.99.
Unlike
Game
Pass
for
Console
though,
PC
Game
Pass
will
retain
access
to
day
one
titles,
meaning
PC
gamers
will
be
able
to
play
the
newest
Call
of
Duty
on
launch
day
at
no
extra
cost.

If
you’re
wondering
why
PC
gamers
seem
to
be
getting
a
far
better
deal,
it’s
because
console
players
have
to
pay
extra
to
play
multiplayer
games,
whereas
PC
players
do
not.

So,
what
if
you
play
on
console
and
want
to
get
all
of
the
latest
Xbox
games
as
soon
as
they
are
available?
Well,
you’ll
need

Game
Pass
Ultimate
which
will
continue
to
bundle
together
PC
Game
Pass,
Console
Game
Pass,
day
one
games,
EA
Play
and
cloud
streaming.
In
other
words,

Game
Pass
Ultimate
isn’t
changing
but
its
price
will
be
increased
to

$19.99.

All
of
these
price
increases
will
take
effect
on
September
12,
2024.