Microsoft Cuts Game Pass Prices, Delays CoD Releases

Microsoft has reduced prices for its top Xbox Game Pass subscription tiers effective immediately, while altering access to new Call of Duty titles, in a move aimed at addressing subscriber feedback and affordability concerns.

The changes lower the cost of Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month in the United States, a roughly 23 percent decrease. PC Game Pass will drop from $16.49 to $13.99 monthly, about a 15 percent reduction. Prices for the Essential tier, at $9.99, and the Premium tier, at $14.99, remain unchanged. Game Pass Ultimate provides access to over 400 games across console and PC, including day-one releases for first-party titles, online multiplayer, cloud streaming, and bundled services like EA Play and Fortnite Crew. The PC version offers a similar library focused on personal computers.

Under the new policy, future Call of Duty games will no longer launch on day one for Game Pass Ultimate or PC subscribers. Instead, they will join the service approximately one year after release, typically during the holiday season. Existing Call of Duty titles currently available on the platform will remain accessible. Activision, the franchise's publisher, stated that...