Xbox has announced a massive shake-up to Xbox Game Pass including the removal of Xbox Game Pass for Consoles (for new users), a new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier that doesn’t include day one releases (and will presumably be more expensive) and a price increase to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
This all kicked off this morning with an email that was sent out to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers with more information provided by Windows Central, as the official support pages as well as final prices haven’t yet been updated on the Xbox website.
As of September 12th, 2024, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will cost $22.95 AUD per month up from $18.95 per month making this a $4 a month increase.
In an email sent to users, Xbox said: “We are constantly working to improve our service and that means providing you with a variety of options that best fit your gaming needs and budget. Because of this we are launching a new choice for you, Xbox Game Pass Standard, this September.”
At the same time, Xbox will apparently scrap its Xbox Game Pass for Console tier (for new players) and introduce a new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier that will do away with day one releases (such as Call of Duty) and provide access to the full Xbox Game Pass catalogue. It’s reported that users on the existing Xbox Game Pass Console tier will not see a price increase as long as they maintain their current subscription.
Xbox Game Pass for PC as well as Xbox Game Pass Core will remain with the PC version seemingly getting a price increase and the Core version also getting a price increase for the yearly sub, although we’re still waiting on prices for them too.
We will update this post when we have more concrete information but it’s clear that Xbox Game Pass is changing, and putting a much higher value on its day one releases which it highlighted in June that it’s about to absolutely start unleashing some games.