Image: Xbox
When something feels too good to be true, it’s usually because it won’t last much longer. That was very much the feeling around Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass that made the launch of the Xbox Series X/S feel so great. There was an extraordinary library, including early releases of Microsoft-published titles, that you could dip into for just ten dollars a month.
Over the years, prices have risen, albeit at the same time as massive international financial problems occurred due to the Covid pandemic. By 2023, Game Pass for console went to $11while the Ultimate version, which also gave you access to PC games, rose by two dollars to $16.99. That still felt like a pretty decent deal, and despite rumors of the increase coinciding with Microsoft’s scandalous $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, the increase was actually slightly lower than inflation.
But then came 2024. IIn July, it was revealed that Game Pass Ultimate rose from $17 to $20, an increase of no less than 18 percent, and is now well above inflation. But worse – much worse – Microsoft killed the more affordable $11 console-only tier at the same time. It was replaced by a new tier called Game Pass Standard, which no longer included day one game releases, and cost $15! Yes, a price increase of almost 50 percent for one far worse version.
What this actually meant is that the price of Game Pass (for anyone who used it as a means to access the full library and play the first Microsoft games) went from $11 to $20 per month. And this time, now that the $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal has somehow gone through, it has really done feeling like it was a factor.
In 2024, Game Pass went from one of the best deals in life to a somewhat bad deal, now a whopping $240 per year, with no discount on annual pricing. Which royally sucks. -John Walker