SEATTLE, WA – October 1, 2025 – Microsoft announced today a significant price increase for it’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service, with its flagship Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier jumping from $19.99/£14.99 to $29.99/£22.99 per month – a roughly 50% increase. The changes, effective promptly, are framed by Microsoft as a move “to offer more versatility, choice, and value to all players.”
The mid-tier, formerly Xbox Game Pass Standard and now rebranded as Xbox Game Pass Premium, will cost $14.99/£10.99 per month, up from $11.99/£9.99.The most affordable option, previously known as Core and now Xbox game Pass Essential, is priced at $9.99/£6.99. PC Game Pass has also seen a price hike, increasing from $11.99/£9.99 to $16.49/£13.49 per month.
Microsoft justified the price adjustments by pointing to recent expansions of the game Pass library, including the addition of Fortnite Crew (valued at $11.99/month) and Ubisoft+ Classics (valued at $7.99/month) to the Ultimate tier. The company also highlighted improvements to Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality and access to over 75 day one releases annually, including future titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
“Our goal with Game Pass has been clear: deliver unmatched value, benefits, and a deep library of games for our players,” Microsoft said in a statement. “Since launching in 2017, we’ve steadily grown our subscriber and creator satisfaction – and today, creator participation and player engagement in Game Pass are at an all-time high. But we have the opportunity for game Pass to help more players find the creators and games they love.”
The company added that it is “evolving Game Pass to offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players, whether you love day one releases, discovering hidden gems, or playing across multiple devices and screens and across Xbox consoles, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud.”
Reports are surfacing online, including on Reddit, of users experiencing issues loading the website or app while attempting to check or cancel their subscriptions.
This price increase follows last week’s proclamation of a second price increase for Xbox Series X|S consoles in the United states, with prices rising between $20 and $70. the move also comes shortly after research indicated that Xbox players engage with a wider variety of games than their PlayStation counterparts, averaging 5.7 titles played per month in August 2025 compared to 3.7 for PlayStation users.
