Game Pass Finally Got Cheaper, But It Lost Call of Duty

Microsoft finally heard the complaints. Game Pass prices are dropping by around 23% as of today, with Ultimate falling to $22.99/month in the US (from $29.99) and PC Game Pass sliding to $13.99 (from $16.49). In the UK, Ultimate drops to £16.99 and PC to £10.99.

The move signals that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is serious about fixing what she called an "too expensive for players" subscription model. Last week, a leaked memo from her said the service needed a "better value equation" short-term while Microsoft "evolves Game Pass into a more flexible system" long-term.

But the price cut comes with a cost: future Call of Duty games will no longer launch day-one on any Game Pass tier. Instead, new CoD titles will arrive about a year after release, roughly during the next holiday season. Call of Duty games already on the service stay where they are.

That's the deal. Cheaper subscription, less blockbuster value.

For price-comparison gamers, it's worth noting this isn't a full rollback of last year's price hike (which hit Game Pass Ultimate at 50%). This is Microsoft meeting somewhere in the middle. And the loss of day-one Call of Duty is significant. Activision and Microsoft have been pushing back against the perceived "unfairness" of paying $69.99 for a game at launch when you can play it same-day on a $13-23 subscription. Publishers aren't comfortable with that margin, and they're starting to win negotiations.

It's a signal that the "everything day-one on subscription" model is cooling. Sony hiked PS Plus prices. Apple is thinking twice about Game Pass discounts. The industry spent three years selling gamers on subscription as "the future." Now it's realizing subscriptions need better margins to survive.

For players deciding whether to buy or subscribe, this makes waiting smarter than it's been in years. Wait for sales. Subscribe for backlog. Day-one blockbusters? Still probably buy them if you want them now.