Highlights
- Microsoft has reduced Game Pass Ultimate pricing to $22.99, with similar cuts to the PC tier.
- New Call of Duty titles will now arrive on Game Pass about a year after release instead of day one.
- The changes come after user backlash and ongoing pressure on revenue and game sales.
Microsoft has reduced Xbox Game Pass pricing and removed day-one access to future Call of Duty (COD) titles, signaling a shift in its subscription model. The update, announced April 21, 2026, via Xbox Wire, takes effect immediately and follows internal concerns that the service had become too expensive for players.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now costs $22.99 USD per month, down from $29.99, while PC Game Pass drops to $13.99 from $16.49.
Existing subscribers will see the revised pricing take effect on April 22, 2026. Essential and premium console tiers remain at $9.99 and $14.99, respectively. The reduction only partially reverses the roughly 50% increase introduced in late 2025, following earlier hikes in 2023 and 2024.
Xbox Game Pass Price Reduction Responds to Backlash and Revenue Pressure
The pricing change follows sustained user criticism and slower growth.
Microsoft has not updated subscriber numbers since 2024, when the service reached 34M users. Even Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, mentioned that Game Pass had “become too expensive for too many players,” reinforcing the need to improve value.
Meanwhile, in its Jan. 28, 2026 fiscal Q2 2026 earnings results, Microsoft highlighted broader strain.
Services revenue and content declined 5% year-on-year (YoY), while hardware revenue fell 32%. Industry estimates, based on a Bloomberg report, indicate that Microsoft gave up more than $300M in Call of Duty sales between 2023 and 2024 linked to Game Pass access, with most of the franchise’s sales still occurring on PlayStation.
Call of Duty Delay Reshapes Game Pass Value Proposition
Starting this year, new Call of Duty titles will not launch on Game Pass. Instead, they will be added “during the following holiday season,” about a year after release. Existing titles will remain available, and subscribers will continue to receive access to hundreds of games, multiplayer, cloud gaming, and other day-one releases.
The change follows mixed performance. COD: Black Ops 6 drove strong subscription growth in 2024, but COD: Black Ops 7 saw weaker sales and lower rankings. Microsoft also confirmed it will stop releasing back-to-back COD: Black Ops and COD: Modern Warfare entries.
Microsoft stated the update “responds to a lot of feedback,” as the company works to refine its approach. Likewise, Sharma has said Game Pass will “evolve into a more flexible system.”
The move reflects a broader reset as Microsoft balances subscription growth with profitability after its $75.4B Activision Blizzard acquisition, and ongoing scrutiny of Game Pass performance.
