Gaming
Xbox Game Pass price cut 2025: Ultimate drops to $22.99 but loses day-one Call of Duty
Despite the Call of Duty change, Game Pass Ultimate retains a substantial offering: hundreds of games across Xbox consoles and PC, major day-one releases from other titles, online console multiplayer, in-game benefits, and unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming access.
Microsoft has announced a significant price reduction for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, bringing the monthly cost down from $29.99 to $22.99, a price cut of around 23%. PC Game Pass also falls from $16.49 to $13.99 per month. The cuts take effect immediately, though prices may vary by region.
The price cut makes Game Pass one of the more competitively priced gaming subscription services on the market at a time when rivals such as Netflix have been moving in the opposite direction, raising fees across multiple markets over the past year.
The trade-off: Call of Duty leaves day-one lineup
The price cut does not come without a significant caveat. Microsoft has confirmed that future Call of Duty titles will no longer be available on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. Instead, new entries in the franchise will be added to the service during the holiday season following their release, meaning subscribers face a wait of roughly a year before accessing new instalments through their subscription.
Existing Call of Duty titles already in the Game Pass library are unaffected and will remain available to subscribers.
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Casual gamers see it as a win
Industry analysts noted that it is unusual for subscription services to reduce their prices, though they pointed out that the Ultimate tier remains around 35% more expensive than it was two years ago. He identified a clear group of losers from the restructure: subscribers who sign up for a month or two specifically to play the latest Call of Duty before cancelling.
For more casual subscribers with broader gaming habits, however, the picture looks rather different.
What Game Pass Ultimate still includes
Despite the Call of Duty change, Game Pass Ultimate retains a substantial offering: hundreds of games across Xbox consoles and PC, major day-one releases from other titles, online console multiplayer, in-game benefits, and unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming access.
Microsoft said the changes reflect feedback gathered from its player base and acknowledged that no single model suits every subscriber. The company stated it would continue to listen and adjust accordingly.
