Price hikes are never exactly welcomed, but the frustration surrounding Microsoft’s announcement that it will be increasing the cost of Xbox Game Pass has been severe. Xbox social channels are flooded with angry reactions, and one look at the Xbox Reddit will tell you everything you need to know.
The price hike is part of a larger overhaul of the Xbox Game Pass service, which includes new perks and new tiers (see Microsoft’s handy graphic explaining the changes below).
But the news that is generating the most (negative) headlines is the unwelcome confirmation that Game Pass Ultimate is increasing from $19.99 per month to $29.99 per month. That’s a 50% hike, which is undoubtedly going to force some subscribers to cancel.
The Microsoft support page for Xbox Game Pass cancellations temporarily crashed due to an overwhelming number of users attempting to unsubscribe simultaneously.
In fact, the initial response to the news when it was made official earlier this week (on Wednesday, October 1) was so strong that the Microsoft support page for Xbox Game Pass cancellations temporarily crashed due to an overwhelming number of users attempting to unsubscribe simultaneously.
There’s little denying that many Xbox users are unhappy with the hike.
Personally, while I agree the price hike is hard to swallow, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate still retains a lot of value. Though its status as the de facto “best deal in gaming” is now less certain. At $30 per month, it’s a service I can only recommend to dedicated players able to commit significant time each month to gaming. If your gaming time is more limited, you might be better off just buying games that appeal to you a la carte. And I would also encourage a rolling monthly subscription, offering the flexibility to pause when a quieter month occurs, or when you won't have much gaming time.
However you slice it, this Xbox Game Pass price hike is unwelcome news, unless you’re a big Fortnite player, in which case the Fortnite Crew perk might add additional value. But if Fortnite isn’t your thing, and you’re looking for silver linings, you can at least stack your subscription at the pre-hike cost right now courtesy of retailers like Amazon, GameStop and Walmart.
Get Xbox Pass Ultimate cheaper while you still can!
These “deals” likely won’t last too much longer, but at present, Amazon, GameStop and Walmart are still selling digital codes for Game Pass Ultimate at the $19.99 per month price. This is likely because the retailers still have remaining stock of Game Pass redeemable codes, and once they’ve run dry, they will switch to the new, significantly higher $29.99 price.
Bottom line
If you’re locked into the Xbox ecosystem or just want to ensure you can maintain your access to Game Pass at a more reasonable price point for as long as possible, be sure to snap up these digital codes as quickly as possible. Game Pass for console can be stacked up to 13 months, while PC Game Pass can be stacked for a very lengthy 36-month period.
Microsoft does have some tentpole releases on the horizon, including Ninja Gaiden 4, The Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops 7 landing day one on Game Pass this year, and looking further ahead, the likes of Gears of War: E-Day and Fable are expected to launch on the Ultimate tier service. So, it may be worth topping up your subscription for less now.
Perhaps the biggest winner in all this is Sony’s PlayStation. It’s rival service, PlayStation Plus, offers a middle tier known as Extra, which, for $15 a month, gives subscribers access to hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games; you don’t get PlayStation Studios games day one, but for half the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the balance is tipping towards PlayStation Plus being the “better” deal. Or at least, it’s the service that feels more appropriately priced.
Don’t forget this Xbox Game Pass price hike comes in the wake of Microsoft confirming price increases across the Xbox hardware lineup as well, and the launch price of the new ROG Xbox Ally handheld has been confirmed to top out at $999.99 for the X model (yes, that's a thousand bucks). Overall, it’s becoming increasingly expensive to be an Xbox gamer, and that sucks.
More from Tom's Guide
- I'm sorry but the ROG Xbox Ally is way too expensive
- Microsoft raises prices on Xbox Series S and X consoles
- I just tested the ROG Xbox Ally — here's 3 things I love about it
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