According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is slashing the price of its highest Game Pass tier from $30 down to $23 per month – effective immediately. The catch? New Call of Duty titles will no longer land on the service at launch.
This reversal comes after two consecutive years of price hikes that left a lot of subscribers frustrated. We covered exactly how bad it was getting when Xbox drove Game Pass off a cliff with its aggressive pricing moves – so a $7-a-month rollback is at least a step in the right direction. Microsoft’s gaming division has also been cutting jobs and closing studios in recent months, which makes this feel less like a generous gift and more like a necessary course correction.
Here’s what the trade-off actually looks like in practice. The highest Game Pass tier drops from $30 to $23 per month, while PC Game Pass also sees a reduction – down to $13.99 from $16.49. New Call of Duty releases, however, won’t be included at launch; Bloomberg reports they’ll arrive on the service roughly a year after release, during the following holiday season. Existing titles like Black Ops 6 stay in the catalog, so it’s not a total wipeout – but if day-one access to the next Call of Duty was a core part of your subscription calculus, that’s now gone. It’s a notable concession given that Activision Blizzard – Call of Duty‘s maker – is owned by Microsoft, which makes the whole situation feel a little awkward. After Xbox removed Game Pass benefits just days after raising prices last time around, subscribers could be forgiven for approaching this one with a degree of scepticism.
For most subscribers the lower price will be welcome, but Call of Duty fans are the ones taking the real hit here. Forza Horizon 6 is reportedly due next month as a day-one Game Pass title, which may soften the blow – though it’s a different audience entirely.
Is the $7 saving worth losing day-one Call of Duty for you, or does this trade-off make Game Pass a harder sell? Sound off in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more breaking gaming news and Game Pass coverage.
