Xbox Game Pass Price Drops By 23%, But Day One Games Scaled Back

Xbox has officially announced a price drop for its Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, bringing huge savings to its users starting today.

Xbox Game Pass has been criticised at length by Xbox fans for being over-priced for what it actually is.

It wasn’t always the case as when it started out it was a brilliant subscription service that allowed gamers to play some of the latest releases for a reasonable monthly fee.

As more games and eventually bonus services were added though the price was slowly inflated, with each price-hike causing outrage amongst existing subscribers.

The latest price-hike was reportedly due to new Call of Duty games joining the service upon launch, with today’s decision seemingly acknowledging that as a mistake.

Xbox Game Pass Subscriptions Are Going Down

In a new post Xbox and its new CEO Asha Sharma announced the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass will see a reduction in price, but also a reduction in benefits to match.

“Starting today,” the post began, "Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 a month. PC Game Pass will also drop from $16.49 to $13.99 a month. Prices may vary by region.”

This is huge development as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers the better overall value if you’re looking to play the most games.

It packages a wide array of existing games with day-one titles published by Xbox Game Studios and its partners, so seeing it get a price-cut is a big win for gamers all around the world.

Less First-Party Games

The caveat to this deal is less games will join the service moving forward, specifically Call of Duty titles.

Activision

Xbox continued to say in its post that “beginning this year, future Call of Duty titles won’t join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. New Call of Duty games will be added to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass during the following holiday season.”

It went on to say that subscribers can expect the latest Call of Duty games around a year after launch, and all existing Call of Duty games featured on the service will remain there.

This means the newest Modern Warfare trilogy will still be playable from today onwards.

All of the other benefits subscribers have come to know and love, like Ubisoft+ and Fortnite Crew, will continue to be available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

It’s sad news if you’re a hardcore Call of Duty fan and Game Pass subscriber, but if you were never bothered about new Call of Duty games joining the subscription service today is a big win.

Xbox has been making several smart business decisions as of late, and with plenty of great first-party games on the horizon this price-reduction is perfectly timed. Hopefully no more u-turns are planned to ruin it.

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