Microsoft Game Pass, a Netflix-like service for the company’s video games, is currently undergoing some major changes that are likely to upset the always-vocal gaming audience.
Microsoft has increased the price of all tiers and phased out one of its cheapest options. Effective immediately, the Game Pass Console tier has been eliminated and replaced with Xbox Game Pass Standard, a tier that does not include day-one releases of major titles like the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
For many Game Pass members, one of the biggest draws is getting access to new releases the day they hit stores. (Existing Game Pass console subscribers who have auto-renew enabled on their accounts can continue to use that for now and get access to games that come out on day one.)
Subscribers to the Game Pass Ultimate plan, which gives new and existing subscribers the games from day one, will now pay $20 per month, which is $3 more per month. The Game Pass Standard plan will cost $15 per month, which is significantly more than the $11 per month Game Pass was paying for console subscribers.
For existing customers, the higher tariffs will apply from September 12th.
While the Xbox console is better known to many, Game Pass has become the heart of Microsoft’s gaming unit in recent years. Sony The company has far surpassed the hardware sector last two generations of gaming systemsHowever, with Game Pass, Microsoft has given people the opportunity to play its games without investing in a $300 device. It’s also interesting for console owners, who can play a large catalog of both older and new titles without having to shell out $60 or more each time.
In February, Microsoft announced that 34 million people had subscribed to the service, an increase of 11 million compared to two years earlier.