(April 21, 2026) — Following days of speculation and a highly publicized internal leak, Microsoft has officially restructured its gaming subscription tiers. The highly anticipated Game Pass Ultimate new price is here, bringing significant financial relief to subscribers—but it comes at the cost of one of the platform’s most heavily marketed perks.
The Game Pass Ultimate New Price and Tier Changes
Effective immediately, Microsoft is rolling back the controversial 50% price hike introduced last October. The revised monthly costs for consumers are dropping significantly across the board:
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Dropping from $29.99 to $22.99 per month.
- PC Game Pass: Dropping from $16.49 to $13.99 per month.
This immediate rollback follows a leaked internal memo obtained by The Verge last week. In the document, newly appointed Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma candidly admitted that the $30-a-month threshold had become “too expensive for players.” Sharma stressed the urgent need to fix the service’s “value equation” to ensure long-term sustainability and flexibility across the US, UK, and global gaming markets.
The Catch: The End of Day-One Call of Duty
While the price cut is a massive win for the average gamer, first-person shooter fans will bear the brunt of the compromise. To offset the revenue loss from the lowered subscription fees, Microsoft confirmed that new Call of Duty titles will no longer launch on Game Pass on day one.
Moving forward, new entries in the blockbuster franchise will hit the service approximately a year after their retail release. (Existing Call of Duty games will remain in player libraries). This is a direct pivot from last year’s aggressive strategy, where the massive price hike was explicitly implemented to support the day-one inclusion of the franchise.
A Consumer-Oriented Shift
The previous pricing model forced many subscribers—who favor indie titles, RPGs, and day-one platformers over annualized shooters—to effectively subsidize the cost of Call of Duty. By isolating the premium shooter from the day-one lineup, Xbox is repositioning Game Pass to better serve its core, variety-seeking consumer base.
Sharma, who took over from Phil Spencer in February 2026, aims to transition Game Pass into a “more flexible system.” Today’s official announcement regarding the Game Pass Ultimate new price signals that Microsoft is listening closely to consumer feedback, pivoting away from an unsustainable premium model in favor of an accessible, player-first gaming ecosystem.
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