April 21, 2026
The fallout from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price hikes has been messy and loud. In late 2025, Microsoft raised the subscription by roughly 50% (from $19.99 to $29.99/month), sparking immediate backlash from players who felt the service was losing its “best deal in gaming” reputation.
Gamers criticized the steep jump during a cost-of-living crunch, with many threatening to cancel or downgrade. Community sentiment online ranged from frustration over value to complaints about inconsistent game quality and communication.
The good news, however, is that prices are set to fall from $29.99 a month to $22.99. PC Game pass will drop from $16.49 to $13.99 per month.
There's the obvious downside of these prices still being higher than before the initial price hike, and, crucially for many gamers, new Call of Duty titles will no longer be included in Game Pass.
This decision comes after Xbox reportedly lost $300 million in Call of Duty sales from 2023 to 2024, with over 80% of all CoD sales coming from PlayStation, indicating Xbox and PC players were not buying the game.
There is still, and likely will be for the near future, plenty of controversy around Game Pass. For those Xbox gamers that don't play Call of Duty however, this is welcome news.
New Call of Duty titles, starting from Black Ops 7, will no longer be included in Game Pass
