When something seems too perfect to be real, it usually doesn’t last. That’s exactly the vibe many gamers had with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. During the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, it felt like an unbeatable bargain—an incredible library of games, including all the Microsoft-published ones right on launch day, all for just ten bucks a month.
Fast forward a few years, and subscription prices have crept up, a trend that coincided with the significant economic disruptions following the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2023, we saw Game Pass for console inch up to $11. The Ultimate version, which offered access to PC games too, jumped a couple of bucks to $16.99. Still, it seemed like a fair deal, even if it matched up with Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as the price rise was modest—just a shade under the rate of inflation.
Then 2024 hit us with a curveball. In July, Game Pass Ultimate’s price leapt from $17 to $20, which is an eye-popping 18% increase, now blatantly above inflation. But it got worse—much worse. At the same time, Microsoft axed the more budget-friendly $11 console-only tier. Instead, they rolled out Game Pass Standard, which axed the day-one release perk and came with a $15 price tag. Yes, you heard that right—a nearly 50% hike for a significantly less appealing version.
What it essentially meant was that if you were using Game Pass to dive into the full library, especially for those coveted day-one Microsoft releases, your monthly cost shot up from $11 to $20. And this time, with the colossal $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard in the rearview mirror, it genuinely felt significant.
In 2024, what was once an extraordinary value turned into something to grumble about. Now setting you back a hefty $240 a year without any annual discount to cushion the blow, it feels like the good times are fading fast. What a downer. – John Walker
