Xbox Game Pass prices increased, day ones removed for basic tier

Great news for everyone who likes paying more money for things: Xbox Game Pass is getting more expensive, starting right now if you’re a new member.

As reported by Windows Central, all current tiers of Microsoft’s subscription-based game library service will be affected, including console, Ultimate, and PC. Meanwhile a new tier called ‘Standard’ is coming, which doesn’t include day one releases but is likely to include the back catalogue.

The monthly cost of PC Game Pass has increased from £7.99/$9.99 per month to £9.99/$11.99 per month. Ultimate’s going up from £12.99/$16.99 to £14.99/$19.99, but both of these tiers retain the day one releases — it’s only console users who miss out on these now with the Standard package.

Microsoft has subsequently created a support page detailing the changes and adding an FAQ, so if you’re confused about how your particular subscription is affected, it’s worth a look.

It’s going to be difficult to find much positive sentiment about higher prices and fewer features for some tiers, but we knew in our bones that this was coming.

Game Pass has felt positively bargainous for a few years now when you consider the size of its library and the calibre of games within it like Starfield, Forza Motorspot, Sea of Thieves and Diablo IV (not to mention our personal favourites Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 and Frog Detective). It was only a matter of time before the pricing strategy switched from aggressive recruitment to something, well, a bit more expensive.

Blockbuster releases regularly make their way to Game Pass, including the recent Hellblade 2 and, coming this October, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6.