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Your wallet can breathe again. Just don’t expect to play the next Call of Duty on day one.
Microsoft has officially slashed the price of its flagship subscription service, Game Pass Ultimate, effective April 22, 2026. Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 per month, while PC Game Pass comes down from $16.49 to $13.99 per month.
But nothing in gaming comes without a trade-off.
Let’s start with the good news. Game Pass Essential at $9.99/month and Game Pass Premium at $14.99/month are staying exactly where they are. Only the top two tiers got the price cut. Here’s a quick breakdown:
| Plan | Old Price | New Price | Change |
| Game Pass Ultimate | $29.99/mo | $22.99/mo | ↓ 23% |
| PC Game Pass | $16.49/mo | $13.99/mo | ↓ 15% |
| Game Pass Premium | $14.99/mo | $14.99/mo | No change |
| Game Pass Essential | $9.99/mo | $9.99/mo | No change |
For existing subscribers, the new pricing kicks in at the start of their next billing cycle.
The Catch: No More Call of Duty
Xbox will no longer bring future Call of Duty games to Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass on the day of their release. New titles will arrive in the service the following holiday season, roughly a year after launch. However, existing Call of Duty titles in the library will stay there.
In fairness, this perk was pretty new to begin with. Black Ops 6 was the first Call of Duty to ever launch directly into Game Pass, followed by last year’s Black Ops 7. So, technically, subscribers only got to enjoy this benefit for two annual releases. Still, losing it stings, especially for the hardcore CoD crowd, who made it one of their key reasons for subscribing.
Why Is This Happening Now?
A lot of this comes down to one person: Asha Sharma, who succeeded Phil Spencer as Xbox CEO in February. She came in with a clear mandate to shake things up, and she hasn’t been quiet about it. Yesterday, in a post on X, she said
Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players. Starting today, we’re dropping the price from $29.99 to $22.99/month.
Future Call of Duty titles will no longer join Game Pass Ultimate on day one. They will join this tier the following holiday after launch (about…— Asha (@asha_shar) April 21, 2026
This price drop is a direct reversal of a decision made just six months ago. Back in October 2025, Xbox significantly raised Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month, a 50% jump while adding perks like the Ubisoft+ Classics Collection and Fortnite Crew to sweeten the deal. Clearly, that deal wasn’t sweet enough. Gamers weren’t happy, and the sales figures showed it.
Is Now Actually a Win for Gamers?
Absolutely, yes. Gamers will save $84 annually on Game Pass Ultimate. Even if a subscriber feels compelled to buy the next Call of Duty at launch for its standard $69.99 price, they’d still come out ahead financially compared to what they were paying before.
That said, some fans aren’t fully sold. Many have questioned why Microsoft didn’t instead trim lower-value perks like Ubisoft+ Classics — but Microsoft offered no detailed public explanation for choosing Call of Duty for the cut. Pulling a first-party franchise from its own service at launch is a bold call, and it sets an uncomfortable precedent. Could the next Elder Scrolls or a future Halo game face the same treatment? Microsoft hasn’t said.
For now, though, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers still get access to hundreds of games on Xbox console and PC, in-game benefits, online console multiplayer, unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming, and major day-one releases from the rest of Xbox’s lineup. It also includes heavily anticipated titles like Forza Horizon 6.
