Microsoft overhauls Game Pass with new tiers and even higher prices

Microsoft has unveiled the most significant overhaul of Xbox Game Pass since its launch in 2017, introducing a new three-tier structure that reshapes the entire service. The changes, which take effect immediately, redefine the subscription model with fresh names, expanded libraries, and a notable price increase at the top end.

The entry-level tier is now called Xbox Game Pass Essential, priced at $9.99 per month. It replaces the former Game Pass Core and offers subscribers a curated library of more than fifty titles across console, PC, and cloud. Essential also includes online multiplayer, unlimited cloud gaming, in-game perks, and up to $25 in annual Xbox Rewards.

The mid-tier option, Xbox Game Pass Premium, comes in at $14.99 per month and replaces the old Game Pass Standard. Premium expands the library to more than two hundred games and promises that all Xbox-published titles will arrive within a year of their release, with the exception of Call of Duty. It also includes online multiplayer, enhanced PC support, cloud gaming, and up to $50 in annual rewards.

At the top of the ladder sits Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which has seen the steepest change. The price has jumped from $19.99 to $29.99 per month, but Microsoft has packed in a host of new benefits. Ultimate subscribers gain access to a library of more than four hundred games, including over seventy-five day-one releases each year. The package also folds in Ubisoft+ Classics, EA Play, and, beginning November 18, Fortnite Crew, which includes the monthly Battle Pass and 1,000 V-Bucks. Cloud streaming quality is being upgraded, wait times are reduced, and annual rewards can now reach up to $100.

Existing subscribers will be transitioned automatically: Core members will move to Essential, Standard members to Premium, and Ultimate subscribers will remain in their tier with the new perks.

The sweeping changes have sparked mixed reactions, in large part due to the sudden and sharp price increase for the Ultimate tier. On top of that, gamers at the lower tiers are losing certain benefits in an effort to push them into upgrading to the highest tier.

Under the old system, Game Pass Standard (at $14.99) gave subscribers access to the full Game Pass library and included day-one releases for all Xbox-published titles. That was one of the service’s biggest selling points: you could play new blockbusters like Starfield or Halo Infinite the moment they launched. With the new structure, Standard has been replaced by Game Pass Premium at the same price, but day-one access is gone. Instead, Premium players only get Xbox-published games within a year of release, and even then, Call of Duty is excluded.

At the top-end, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can no longer save money with an annual subscription, forcing them to pay the higher monthly fee. Microsoft Rewards has also been updated to remove Game Pass subscription time, so the option to try it for ‘free', or to increase your subscription time without spending extra, is completely gone.

KitGuru Says: I've been a long-time supporter of Game Pass but with these changes, I think I'm finally jumping off the train. At $360 per year, it can no longer be considered ‘the best deal in gaming', at least in my opinion. 

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