Earlier this week, Microsoft announced it was raising the price of its flagship subscription service, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, by $10 a month. The 50% price hike brings the new cost to $29.99 per month, but there is still a limited window to lock in the old rate on Amazon.
How Can I Lock in the Old Game Pass Ultimate Price?
You can still purchase a Xbox Game Pass Ultimate digital code on Amazon for the old price: three months at $59.99, or one month for $19.99. Compared to the new monthly rate, that saves you nearly $30 every three months.
Better yet, these codes are stackable, letting you prepay a subscription for up to 36 months. This could save you a total of $360 over the next three years.
When Does the New Game Pass Ultimate Price Start?
The new $29.99 per month price is already in effect for new subscribers. Existing subscribers will see the increase at the beginning of their next billing cycle.
How Has Microsoft Improved Game Pass Ultimate?
To justify the price increase, Microsoft has added 45 titles to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, including Hogwarts Legacy and several Assassin’s Creed titles. In addition, Ultimate subscribers now get access to 75 day one releases each year. This is a 50% increase over the access to day one titles provided last year.
Ubisoft+ Classics is now included in Game Pass Ultimate, giving access to select Ubisoft games across console, PC, and cloud. Fortnite Crew is also joining Ultimate on November 18th, giving subscribers access to Fortnite Battle Pass and 1,000 V-Bucks each month.
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Ultimate subscribers can now also earn up to $100 per year (100,000 points) in the store just by playing games.
Does This Price Increase Affect Other Xbox Game Pass Plans?
Yes and no. Xbox Game Pass Core has been rebranded to Xbox Game Pass Essential, while the Standard plan is now called Game Pass Premium.
Game Pass Premium remains at the same $14.99 monthly price as the existing Standard subscription, but has been expanded to give access to PC games. Its library has been increased to more than 200 games, including Diablo IV and Hogwarts Legacy. Premium subscribers are also getting unlimited cloud gaming for the first time.
Xbox Game Pass Essential also remains at the same $9.99 monthly price as the existing Core subscription, but now includes 50 titles across console, PC, and cloud.
Premium subscribers will be able to earn up to $50 per year (50,000 points) in the store by playing games, while Essential subscribers can earn up to $25.
Meanwhile, the Xbox PC Game Pass subscription has increased from $11.99 per month to $16.49. The only change happening for this tier is 50 additional Ubisoft titles.
What Other Xbox Price Increases Are Going Into Effect?
Microsoft is set to increase the price of its Xbox Series S and X consoles starting on Friday, October 3rd. The Series X will be priced at $649.99 (up from $599.99), while the Series S will increase to $399.99 ($379.99).
However, you can currently snag the Series X for $549.99 and the Series S for $329.99 at Amazon.