Xbox Game Pass is getting its biggest shake-up yet, introducing new tiers, higher prices, and fresh perks that mark a turning point for Microsoft’s subscription empire.
Xbox is rolling out its most significant restructuring since the service debuted in 2017, introducing three revamped tiers—Essential, Premium and Ultimate—while raising prices and expanding benefits. This announcement marks the latest price hike for Canadian and U.S. subscribers, continuing an upward trend that has seen costs nearly triple in less than a decade as the service slowly evolved.
The new plans break down as follows:
Ultimate – $33.99 CAD / $29.99 USD
Premium – $17.99 CAD/ $14.99 USD
Essential – $13.99 CAD / $9.99 USD
When Xbox Game Pass launched in June 2017, it offered unlimited access to over 100 games for $9.99 per month (US), positioning itself as an affordable entry point into Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem. That pricing held until July 2023, when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate—introduced in 2019 at $14.99 a month—saw its first increase to $16.99 in the United States and $18.99 in Canada.
Just over a year later, in September 2024, Microsoft implemented another significant hike, raising Ultimate to $19.99 US and $22.99 CAD a month. Now, with October 2025’s latest revamp, Ultimate costs $29.99 US and $33.99 CAD monthly. That works out to $359.88 US or $407.88 CAD over the course of a year for those subscribing month-to-month. This marks a 100 percent increase from the original Ultimate pricing introduced six years earlier, and a 200 percent jump from the service’s 2017 launch price.
Speaking on the latest changes, Team Xbox said: “We’re rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet, including more day-one games than ever before, Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft Classics for the first time, upgrades to Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality, Rewards with Xbox, and more. Now players can have it all.”
The company is presenting the increase as necessary to address changing market conditions, while promising added value through larger catalogues, improved streaming quality and exclusive partnerships. Xbox is also emphasizing how the service has evolved since its launch. The latest update integrates PC gaming into regular plans, removes the beta tag from game streaming and introduces additional perks designed for players who use the service extensively.
In 2024, Microsoft officially retired Xbox Game Pass for Console for new subscribers, replacing it with Game Pass Standard at $14.99 US per month. The new tier dropped day-one releases and cloud gaming, marking a sharp break from the service’s original promise of instant access to new titles. The September 2024 update signalled a turning point, as Xbox began splitting its audience across multiple price tiers. It also tightened access to first-party launches, leaving the Ultimate tier as the only option for players who want every new release on day one.
The newly introduced Premium tier, priced at $17.99 CAD and $14.99 USD per month, represents Microsoft’s latest attempt to capture subscribers who are unwilling or unable to pay for Ultimate but seek more than the bare-bones Essential offering. Premium provides 200 games across console, PC and cloud, along with unlimited cloud gaming and select in-game benefits, but notably withholds day-one releases—Xbox-published games arrive within a year instead. Essential, the entry-level replacement for the former Core tier, offers 50 games, cloud gaming support and online multiplayer for $13.99 CAD and $9.99 USD monthly.
Ultimate subscribers now gain access to more than 75 day-one releases annually — 50 percent more than in 2024 — alongside newly bundled perks, including Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft Classics. Microsoft estimates those additions represent $38 Cdn in monthly value. Enhanced cloud gaming at up to 1440p resolution, more than 400 games in the catalogue, and a revamped rewards program offering as many as 100,000 Store points annually (equivalent to $100 CAD) further help justify the increase to Ultimate. Microsoft is clearly framing the tier as a premium experience, designed for people who want the most from their Xbox subscription.
Xbox highlighted the games Ultimate subscribers will be able to access on day one, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, High on Life 2, Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles join a growing library of more than 400 games playable on Xbox consoles, PC and Xbox Cloud on supported devices, with over 45 new games added today. Highlights include Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong, along with exclusive benefits such as access to EA Play.
This latest move aligns with the trend at Xbox and across the subscription landscape, where rising development costs, major acquisitions—including the US$ 68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard—and increased competition have prompted companies to reassess sustainable business models and the extent to which they are willing to incur losses to attract subscribers.
While subscriber growth reached about 34 million by 2023, the service has reportedly plateaued, prompting Microsoft to focus on extracting more revenue per user rather than pursuing further expansion. With more games from first-party studios arriving on the platform, the strategy may be logical, but for players facing the new sticker price, it remains a shock.
According to Team Xbox: “It’s all part of our commitment to meet players where they are, so you can choose what works best for you, no matter how or where you love to play.”
Despite this emphasis on flexibility and choice, the restructuring ensures that players seeking the full Game Pass experience—day-one releases, cloud gaming and premium partnerships—now pay more than three times what early adopters paid in 2017. The added value may appeal to some, but for players who only dive into a few games a year, the higher cost could be a difficult adjustment. Xbox may see some subscribers leave Ultimate or shift to other tiers, depending on whether the new perks are enough to sustain interest in paying for Xbox Game Pass each month.
