All products and promotions are independently selected by our experts. To help us provide free impartial advice, we will earn an affiliate commission if you buy something. Click here to learn more
Microsoft has increased prices for 34 million Game Pass subscribers worldwide — forcing them to pay an additional £24 every year. The price rise impacts new users from today while existing Game Pass subscribers will be given a few weeks' grace, with the increase scheduled to kick-in from September.
The price rise for Game Pass subscribers will impact those who play on Windows PCs, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles, as well as those who stream titles to the Meta Quest VR headsets, iPhone and Android phones, as well as Amazon's hugely-popular Fire TV Sticks.
The Xbox price rises, which impact subscribers to the Netflix-like service around the world, are as follows...
It comes as Microsoft confirmed one of the biggest-selling franchises on the planet, Call of Duty, will be coming to Game Pass in the coming months. The next entry in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, will be included in the catalogue of games to download or stream for subscribers the moment it's released in stores worldwide.
With the Xbox app running on your Fire TV Stick, you'll be able to play triple-A console titles like Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Call of Duty with a Bluetooth-enabled controller
AMAZON PRESS OFFICEBefore its acquisition by Microsoft, game developer Activision would sell copies of each new Call of Duty instalment for £69.99, shifting around 20 million copies on average each year. Those who don't hold a Game Pass subscription — as well as those on rival platforms, like the PlayStation 5 — will need to pay for a standalone copy of the forthcoming game.
Starting from just £1 for the first fortnight, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a Netflix-like subscription that offers access to a rotating catalogue of console and PC games from Microsoft's in-house studios, which now includes Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as other popular developers, like EA.
Games can be downloaded to consoles or PCs and played locally without an internet connection. In-game progress will be synched over the cloud, so you'll also be able to resume on another device, like a smartphone, iPad, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, or handheld games console, like the Logitech G Cloud or Asus ROG Ally. Fire TV Stick owners can pair Bluetooth-enabled controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller to play favourites like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Starfield.
Xbox has even integrated features like voice chat into its cloud offering, so the experience in your web browser and across different devices should be very close to playing on a traditional game console.
You'll need a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to be able to play across different devices.
Alongside PC Game Pass, these are the only subscriptions with access to new games on launch day. A more affordable plan, known as Game Pass Core, includes access to online multiplayer and a selection of 25 titles from the Game Pass Ultimate catalogue, with newer games added over time. It costs just £6.99 per month and is a replacement for the Xbox Live subscription that used to be offered for those who wanted to play online.
The price rise from Xbox to £14.99 means the most expensive Game Pass subscription is now pricier than Sony's top-tier PlayStation Plus Premium plan, which costs £13.49 in the UK. This includes access to some 400 games from across PS4 and PS5, although Sony does not offer new games on launch day like Microsoft.
Xbox subscribers who currently have a basic Game Pass subscription on their console will be able to keep it until it expires. Microsoft will start charging the new, higher monthly fee when your next billing date rolls around.
Microsoft has previously spoken about its ambition to have 100 million subscribers to Game Pass worldwide by 2030. This punchy target has pushed the US company to acquire dozens of studios at huge expense to produce new titles for its streaming service.
Game Pass currently offers a wide variety of titles, including the likes of Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Pentiment, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Dead Space. Some of these games, including Sea of Thieves and Pentiment, were recently launched on the PlayStation Store and Nintendo Switch as standalone purchases.
Microsoft hasn't ruled out launching more of its exclusive Xbox games across other platforms to drum up more players for its online multiplayer worlds and boost revenue for a title that's run its course on Xbox consoles and PCs.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
With some sales data suggesting that PS5 is outselling Xbox Series X and Series S at a ratio of 2:1, it's unsurprising to see Microsoft look elsewhere for more players. Game Pass subscribers are able to play the game as part of their monthly subscription — one advantage of choosing an Xbox or PC over its competitors.
Microsoft recently held its summer preview event where it announced a raft of new games, including a new Doom, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, South Of Midnight, and Perfect Dark that'll launch on Xbox Game Pass on release day.
