Microsoft cuts Xbox subscription prices, bucking industry trends
Microsoft cuts Xbox subscription prices, bucking industry trends
Daniel HowleyTue, April 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC
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Microsoft (MSFT) on Tuesday said that it is reducing the price of two of its Xbox Game Pass tiers, a move that runs counter to broader industry trends.
The company says its Game Pass Ultimate price will drop from $29.99 per month to $22.99, while the PC version of Game Pass will come down to $13.99 from $16.49. Microsoft’s Game Pass Essential and Game Pass Premium prices will stay the same.
But the announcement also comes with a caveat. Microsoft says its popular “Call of Duty” games will no longer be available via the subscription service the same day they hit store shelves moving forward. Instead, they’ll launch on Game Pass about a year after their initial release.
Prior “Call of Duty” games will be unaffected by the change.
The decision to reduce the price of Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass is a reversal from October when Microsoft increased the price of both offerings, drawing criticism from gamers.
At the time, the company raised the cost of Ultimate from $19.99 per month to $29.99, a 50% jump, while PC Game Pass rose from $11.99 to $16.49.
The Microsoft Xbox Game Pass logo is seen at the Paris Games Week (PGW), a trade fair for video games in Paris, France, November 5, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
(REUTERS / Reuters)
The change is one of the first major decisions from new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma, who took on the role after long-time CEO Phil Spencer, who was largely beloved by the gaming community, stepped down in February, and will likely earn goodwill among gamers.
Sharma already gained points with players in her first statement as CEO saying that she would not “chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.”
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Microsoft’s move comes as the cost of game consoles and games continues to climb amid President Trump’s tariffs, the global memory crunch, and ballooning development costs.
Earlier this month, Sony (SONY) increased the price of its more than 5-year-old PlayStation 5 console by $100. Microsoft has also raised the price on its Xbox Series X system, while Nintendo (NTDOY) raised the price of its original Switch, though kept the price of its new Switch 2 unchanged.
Video games themselves are also becoming more expensive. Nintendo is using a pricing method called variable pricing that sees some games priced at $70, while others like “Mario Kart World” cost $80. The company is also varying the price of games based on whether you purchase a downloadable or physical copy.
The upcoming “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book,” for instance, will cost $60 if you preorder the downloadable version, while the physical copy will cost $70.
Microsoft’s price decreases are also a sharp contrast to other subscription services, which have raised the cost to access their platforms in recent months.
Last month, Netflix (NFLX) raised the prices of its plans, the second such increase in less than two years. In September, Disney (DIS) raised the cost of its Disney+ and Hulu offerings. Spotify (SPOT) increased prices in January.
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(Yahoo Finance)
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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Source: “AOL Money”
