Xbox Game Pass price cuts are the headline, and for once the news actually favors subscribers: Ultimate drops to $22.99 per month and PC Game Pass falls to $13.99, reversing the hikes that pushed Ultimate to $29.99 earlier in 2025. But Microsoft isn’t giving anything away for free. The trade-off is significant — day-one access to Call of Duty titles is leaving the service, a perk that was central to the value pitch when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard. Xbox Game Pass price cuts refer to Microsoft’s decision to reduce monthly subscription costs across its gaming tiers while simultaneously restructuring what content those tiers include.
Key Takeaways
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate drops to $22.99/month, down from $29.99 following the October 2025 tier restructure.
- PC Game Pass falls to $13.99/month under the new pricing.
- Day-one Call of Duty inclusion is ending, a major shift from Microsoft’s post-Activision promise.
- Three tiers now exist: Essential at $9.99, Premium at $14.99, and Ultimate at $22.99 per month.
- Ultimate subscribers gain Fortnite Crew from November 18, 2025, adding Battle Pass and 1,000 V-Bucks per month.
What the Xbox Game Pass Price Cuts Actually Mean
The new pricing reverses a trajectory that had frustrated subscribers throughout 2025. Ultimate at $22.99 is a meaningful reduction from the $29.99 it reached after Microsoft restructured its tiers on October 1, 2025. PC Game Pass at $13.99 also represents a genuine cut. These aren’t introductory rates — they’re the new standard monthly prices available via xbox.com with recurring billing on by default.
The October 2025 restructure introduced three tiers that replaced the older lineup. Essential sits at $9.99 per month, upgrading from the old Core tier, and includes a curated game library, online multiplayer, and cloud gaming. Premium costs $14.99 per month, upgraded from Standard, and includes new Xbox-published titles within a year of release. Ultimate at $22.99 covers the expanded catalog, PC titles, unlimited cloud gaming, and in-game benefits for Riot Games titles. Each tier serves a different type of player, and Microsoft’s automatic tier transitions — Core to Essential, Standard to Premium — mean most existing subscribers won’t need to do anything manually.
Why Losing Call of Duty Day One Is a Bigger Deal Than It Sounds
Removing day-one Call of Duty access undercuts one of the clearest value arguments Microsoft made when it spent $69 billion acquiring Activision Blizzard. The promise that Game Pass subscribers would get Call of Duty on launch day was a competitive weapon against PlayStation’s subscription service. Pulling it back, even alongside a price cut, sends a mixed message about where Microsoft’s subscription strategy is actually heading.
For casual players who dip into Game Pass for variety, losing Call of Duty day one may not sting. For the core shooter audience that subscribed specifically for that perk, the calculus changes entirely. A lower monthly price doesn’t compensate for missing the game you actually wanted on launch weekend. Microsoft is essentially betting that the broader library and new bundle perks outweigh the loss of its most commercially valuable franchise as a day-one inclusion.
What Ultimate Subscribers Get Instead
Ultimate subscribers gain Fortnite Crew starting November 18, 2025 — a bundle that Epic normally charges $11.99 per month for separately, including the Battle Pass and 1,000 V-Bucks every month. That’s a tangible addition, particularly for the large overlap between Game Pass subscribers and active Fortnite players. The rewards structure also strengthens: Ultimate members can earn up to 100,000 points per year (equivalent to $100 in Store credit), get 4x points on purchases, 10% back on select library titles and add-ons, and up to 30% value or 20% off on select games.
Deals with Game Pass also improve, with up to 50% off select games for Ultimate, Premium, and Essential subscribers, and 20% off library games for Ultimate, Console, and PC members. Whether that offsets the Call of Duty loss depends entirely on your gaming habits — but Microsoft is clearly trying to build a broader value proposition rather than relying on a single franchise as the headline draw.
How Does Game Pass Compare to PlayStation’s Subscription Tiers?
The restructured Game Pass lineup — Essential, Premium, Ultimate — mirrors the tiered approach Sony uses with PlayStation Plus (Essential, Extra, Premium). Both services now operate on a three-tier model with escalating content access at higher price points. The competitive pressure is real, and Microsoft’s price cuts suggest it’s responding to subscriber sensitivity after the 2025 hikes drew significant backlash.
Speculation about further expansions, including a potential Netflix integration as an add-on to Ultimate, has circulated but remains unconfirmed. Microsoft has form for bundling streaming services into its subscription ecosystem, so the idea isn’t implausible — but subscribers shouldn’t factor unconfirmed additions into their purchasing decisions right now.
Is the Xbox Game Pass price cut permanent?
Based on available information, the new prices — $22.99 for Ultimate and $13.99 for PC Game Pass — are the standard ongoing monthly rates, not a promotional offer. Microsoft has not indicated an expiry date. Recurring billing applies by default, so subscribers should verify their renewal settings via xbox.com.
Why is Microsoft removing Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass access?
Microsoft hasn’t given a detailed public explanation for the change. The removal coincides with a broader restructuring of what each tier delivers, suggesting the company is redistributing value across the lineup rather than concentrating it in a single franchise. Day-one access to new Call of Duty titles was a flagship perk, and its removal is a notable step back regardless of the price reduction.
What happens to existing Game Pass subscribers after the tier changes?
Microsoft has made tier transitions automatic. Subscribers on the old Core plan move to Essential, and those on Standard move to Premium. Ultimate subscribers remain on Ultimate. No manual action is required, though subscribers should check their new pricing and benefits to confirm what they’re now paying and receiving.
The Xbox Game Pass price cuts are genuinely good news for subscribers watching their monthly outgoings — but Microsoft is asking players to accept less of what made Game Pass compelling in the first place. A lower price with a weaker content promise isn’t automatically a better deal. Whether the Fortnite Crew bundle and improved rewards structure fill the gap left by Call of Duty day one is a question only each subscriber can answer for themselves.
This article was written with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.
Source: Tom's Hardware
