Xbox has announced that it has lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 monthly to $22.99 monthly, effective immediately. PC Game Pass will also drop from $16.49 to $13.99 a month.
In a post, Team Xbox outlines the change, saying that, as a result, “future Call of Duty titles won’t join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. New Call of Duty games will be added to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass during the following holiday season (about a year later), while existing Call of Duty titles already in the library will continue to be available.” Previously, the price of Ultimate went up from $19.99 to $29.99 due to the inclusion of Call of Duty as a day one addition to the service. While it hasn’t returned to its previous price, it is a step in addressing many of the criticisms leveled towards Xbox in the last year.
In February, former Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer retired and Xbox President Sarah Bond resigned from Xbox. In their place, Asha Sharma took the reins as Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty took over as Chief Content Officer of Microsoft Gaming. The new price updates to Game Pass appear to be an attempt from Sharma to return the Xbox brand to its former glory. This initiative will continue on June 7 with the Xbox Games Showcase and Gears of War: E-Day Direct.
During the showcase, Xbox will focus on showcasing news on its upcoming first-party games, as well as titles from its third-party partners. It’s possible this may include new looks at Fable, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and Persona 4 Revival. Afterwards, a 30-minute direct focused entirely on Gears of War: E-Day will take place and feature new looks at it’s gameplay, story, and maybe even a release date.
