Xbox drops Game Pass prices as Call of Duty officially exits service’s Day One launch slate strategy
Microsoft has reversed course on its aggressive Game Pass pricing strategy by cutting subscription costs and removing new Call of Duty titles from day-one availability. Under new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who cited that Game Pass had “become too expensive for players,” the company reduced Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99 per month, effective immediately. UK pricing also dropped correspondingly, with Ultimate falling from £22.99 to £16.99.
The price reduction comes with a significant trade-off: future Call of Duty games will no longer launch day-one on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. Instead, new entries in the franchise will be added approximately one year after release, during the following holiday season. Existing Call of Duty titles already available on the service remain unaffected. The decision represents an end to a two-year run of day-one Call of Duty availability that had been a major draw for subscribers.
The announcement arrives just six months after Microsoft implemented a controversial 50% price increase on Game Pass Ultimate, raising the cost from $20 to $29.99 per month. Despite today’s cuts, the new pricing remains higher than pre-hike levels. Industry observers suggest the strategy shift reflects both subscriber backlash and Microsoft’s calculation that revenue from full-price Call of Duty sales will offset the loss of subscription day-one availability. The changes represent a recalibration of Game Pass’s value proposition as Microsoft seeks to balance affordability concerns with monetization goals for its premium franchises.
Sources
- Xbox drops Game Pass prices as Call of Duty officially exits service’s Day One launch slate strategy
- Xbox is slashing the price of Game Pass
- Microsoft cuts Game Pass pricing and removes Call of Duty as day-one launch title in response to “a lot of feedback”
- Today’s Game Pass Change Is A Great One. The Next One Will Hurt.
- Game Pass Gets Price Drop, New Call Of Duty Games No Longer Included
- CoD Launches Are Gone, But Game Pass Should Ditch All The Other Games You’ve Heard Of, Too
- Xbox Game Pass Price, Day-One Games, And Tiers In 2026 Explained
- Game Pass’s Price Cut Isn’t The Discount You Think It Is
- Microsoft Drops Price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
- BREAKING: Xbox CEO Announces Game Pass Price Drop, Effective Immediately
- BREAKING: Call of Duty No Longer Releasing Day One On Xbox Game Pass
- All Xbox Game Pass Prices Following Game Pass Ultimate Price Drop, Explained
- Xbox Game Pass prices are going down, but future Call of Duty games won’t be added until ‘about a year’ after they launch
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s price was too expensive for too many fans
- Xbox Game Pass gets big price cut and loses a major perk
- Call Of Duty Titles Will No Longer Join Xbox Game Pass On Day One
- Here’s A Breakdown Of The New Prices For Xbox Game Pass As Of April 2026
- Xbox Announces Price Reductions For Game Pass Ultimate & PC Game Pass
- Call of Duty won’t hit Xbox Game Pass at launch going forwards, as Microsoft’s subscription service gets a price cut
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets a price cut but loses new Call of Duty games
- Xbox is cutting Game Pass prices and removing launch-day Call of Duty games