What’s the latest on Xbox Game Pass price cuts?

Xbox drops Game Pass prices and removes day-one CoD inclusion

Microsoft has lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass following negative feedback tied to earlier price hikes. The change is positioned as a reversal of the earlier 50% increase instituted in 2025.

Alongside the price cut, Microsoft also adjusted how new Call of Duty titles are handled in the subscription service. Going forward, Call of Duty games will no longer be included at launch as part of Game Pass’s day-one lineup strategy. That means subscribers will still get access to older or catalog titles, but the “day-one” perk for new releases has been removed.

The practical impact is straightforward:

• Subscribers pay less than they did after the prior increase.
• New Call of Duty releases will no longer arrive immediately in the service at launch.
• The move is presented as a response to customer criticism about the value proposition of higher tiers.

Why it matters: Call of Duty has long been a key driver for subscriptions, so losing day-one access changes the incentive structure for prospective buyers. Meanwhile, a price cut could broaden affordability for existing subscribers. Taken together, the updates signal a shift in Microsoft’s subscription economics—aiming to recover goodwill on pricing while redesigning the partnership/value model tied to major releases.