Microsoft has unveiled significant changes to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, blending positive and negative news for gamers. Asha Sharma, the head of Microsoft Gaming, announced that while the price of Xbox Game Pass will be reduced, future titles in the blockbuster Call of Duty series will no longer be available on the service at launch.
Price Reductions Across Subscriptions
Effective immediately, the cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has been lowered from £22.99 to £16.99 per month in the United Kingdom and from $29.99 to $22.99 per month in the United States. Similarly, PC Game Pass will see a decrease from $16.49 to $13.99 per month in the US and from £13.49 to £10.99 per month in the UK. This move comes after a substantial price hike last October, when the top-tier subscription increased by nearly 50%, making the current reduction a welcome relief for subscribers.
Call of Duty Exclusion Strategy
In a strategic shift, Microsoft confirmed that forthcoming Call of Duty games will not be included in Game Pass upon release. Instead, these titles will retail at full price, typically around £70 or $80, and will only join the subscription service approximately one year after launch. This decision marks a departure from the approach taken with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in 2024, which was the first game in the series to debut on Game Pass following Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision in 2023.
According to a Bloomberg report citing a former Xbox employee, Microsoft incurred an estimated $300 million in lost sales by making Call of Duty available on Game Pass at launch. The company has clarified that while new Call of Duty games will be excluded, older titles in the series will remain accessible on the platform, and other games from Microsoft-owned studios will continue to be playable from their release day.
Background and Strategic Context
Asha Sharma announced these updates via social media platform X, following an internal memo to Xbox staff on April 13, as reported by The Verge, which highlighted concerns over the rising costs of Game Pass. For nearly a decade, Game Pass has been central to Xbox's strategy, as Microsoft pivots from the console hardware market—where it has lagged behind competitors Sony and Nintendo since the problematic launch of the Xbox One in 2013—toward a Netflix-style streaming model. This model aims to expand game accessibility across various devices.
Since 2024, Microsoft has been releasing its studio games on platforms such as PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, in addition to its own Xbox hardware. The company has invested over $86 billion in acquiring game developers since 2014, starting with a $2.5 billion deal for Minecraft creator Mojang.
Financial Insights and Future Outlook
During a conference call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that Game Pass generated nearly $5 billion in revenue during the 2025 financial year. Former Xbox chief Sarah Bond asserted that the service is profitable for both Microsoft and the external developers who distribute their games through it. These financial metrics underscore the importance of Game Pass in Microsoft's broader gaming ecosystem, even as adjustments are made to balance subscriber affordability with revenue generation from high-profile titles like Call of Duty.
The changes reflect a nuanced approach to subscription economics, aiming to sustain growth while navigating the competitive landscape of the video game industry.
