Xbox cuts prices for Game Pass but ends day-one Call of Duty access

Xbox says it is dropping the prices of its subscription service Game Pass, just six months after hiking them by more than 50%.

But the Microsoft-owned company said new Call of Duty games will only be added to the more premium Game Pass Ultimate and also PC Game Pass "about a year" after they are released.

Reaction from fans was mixed, with some praising Xbox for "listening to feedback" on prices, while others noted it created "a trust issue" over what other first-party games could be removed in future.

The announcement marks a departure from some other subscription services though, many of which - including Game Pass - have been criticised for regularly hiking monthly prices.

Game Pass gives players access to a vault of Xbox games for a flat monthly fee.

But a recent leaked internal memo from new boss Asha Sharma, seen by The Verge, admitted it had "become too expensive for players".

In the UK, Game Pass Ultimate has dropped from £22.99 to £16.99 a month and PC Game Pass from £13.49 to £10.99 a month, with prices varying in other territories.

Six months ago, news that Microsoft had hiked the price of the subscription service by more than 50% was met with anger from fans, with many claiming they would cancel.

Christopher Dring, editor of The Game Business, said the price cut reflects the "challenge" Microsoft faces to regain fans' trust in the brand.

Xbox, as with many other companies in the industry, has been hit with waves of layoffs and cancelled projects over recent years.

An announcement in 2024 that it would begin to publish formerly exclusive titles on other consoles was met with further backlash from fans.

Following the leaked memo from Sharma, business professor Joost van Dreunen said he believed it was likely "Xbox will start relying much more heavily on advertising" rather than subscription services or content to make money.

He added that under Sharma, who started in the role in February, Xbox was more likely to "behave like a scaled platform business, monetizing audience attention rather than just access to content".

Sharma, previously an AI executive at Microsoft, stated her mission was to "understand what makes this work and protect it".

The recent announcement that Microsoft's Xbox division was working on a new console, code-named Project Helix, showed, she said at the time, the "commitment to the return of Xbox".

Dring noted it was unusual for subscription services to fall in price, although the Ultimate subscription tier was "still 35% more than it was two years ago".

Netflix increased its subscription prices in the UK in February, after raising them in the US, Canada, Argentina and Portugal earlier in the year.

"The big losers from this cut are those who subscribe to Game Pass for a month or two to play the latest Call of Duty, and then leave," said Dring.

"These gamers now either have to be patient, or buy the game in full."

Existing Call of Duty titles already in the library will continue to be available for Game Pass subscribers.

Call of Duty fan Chantelle Parker said she was not worried about Game Pass no longer including new editions of the game.

The streamer, known online as Chantelle Plays, felt the price cut was a "big win" for the casual gamer as they no longer have to subsidise the Call of Duty addition.

"I feel like Call of Duty fans like me will also just buy the game separately anyway," she told BBC Newsbeat.

Like some other Xbox users, Chantelle was surprised at the Game Pass coming down in price while it felt like "everything else is going up".

"It's a lot more accessible to a lot more people. So that is good in my eyes… people just couldn't afford to be paying that much per month for this library of games," she said.