Xbox announces Game Pass price hikes and new 'standard' plan

Xbox fans will need to adjust their budgets as Xbox Game Pass prices are set to increase this year in a phased rollout.

Starting July 10, new subscribers will be charged the updated prices, while current subscribers will see the higher costs beginning September 12. In the US, the Game Pass Ultimate will rise from $17 to $20 per month, and a year of Game Pass Core will increase from $60 to $75. Microsoft detailed all regional increases in a graph.

In addition to the price hike, Microsoft is introducing a new, less expensive option in September called Xbox Game Pass Standard. This plan will offer access to Game Pass titles but will exclude some perks of the Ultimate package, such as day-one releases and Xbox Cloud Gaming. The Standard plan will include online multiplayer, some store discounts, and all the features of the Core plan, costing $15 per month for new users to the service.

The Xbox Game Pass for Console plan will no longer be available for new customers, and current plan holders will need to choose a different option if they stop their automatic renewal and wish to re-subscribe.

This price adjustment comes amid reports of slowing subscriber growth for Game Pass. Microsoft announced in February that the program had 34 million subscribers, with only 9 million new players added over the past two years. This total includes the Core plan, indicating that the number of new subscribers is even lower.