Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets a $10/month price hike
Starting October 1, 2025, Microsoft is bumping up the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate monthly fee from $19.99 to $29.99.
The new price brings more than 75 day-one game releases each year, access to Ubisoft+ Classics with over 40 extra titles, Fortnite Crew perks, and upgraded cloud gaming at 1440p with better bitrate and priority access.
What's new in subscription options?
Microsoft has shuffled its subscription options: Game Pass Standard is now Game Pass Premium, including PC and cloud gaming plus a library of 40+ back-catalogue games at no extra cost.
The Essential tier sticks to a smaller curated collection for $9.99/month.
PC Game Pass now costs $16.49/month—adding Ubisoft+ Classics and day-one Xbox Studios games but dropping cloud gaming.
Microsoft Rewards has also changed
Microsoft Rewards has changed too—points can't be swapped directly for subscriptions anymore but can be turned into gift cards instead, with yearly caps based on your tier.
These moves are part of Microsoft's push to grow its gaming services, which pulled in nearly $5 billion from 34 million subscribers in 2024.