Cancelations, Anger, and Frantic Subscription Stacking — the Internet Reacts to Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Price Hike

As the particulate settled connected Microsoft’s daze terms emergence for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which jumped 50% from $19.99 to $29.99 successful the U.S. successful what amounts to an other $120 a year, fans reacted with a substance of anger, cancelations, and frantic subscription stacking.

Meanwhile, a canvass of 10,000 IGN readers showed 45% of our assemblage isn’t funny successful subscribing to Game Pass astatine each pursuing the news, with conscionable shy of 30% saying they volition subscribe to Ultimate contempt the terms rise.

To warrant the summation successful terms of Ultimate, Microsoft has accrued the fig of time 1 releases per twelvemonth to 75, and has added Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics for the archetypal clip ever. There are besides upgrades to Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality.

Ubisoft+ Classics — valued astatine $7.99 / £6.99 per period per level — is present portion of Ultimate. Starting November 18, Fortnite Crew — which itself costs $11.99 / £9.99 a period — volition beryllium included successful Ultimate, with entree to the Fortnite Battle Pass and 1,000 V-Bucks each month.

The unreality gaming boost amounts to amended performance. Ultimate subscribers “exclusively bask our champion prime streaming and shortest hold times,” Microsoft said. Xbox Cloud Gaming has besides officially exited beta “as portion of our committedness to marque gameplay smoother and much responsive.”

Microsoft said the caller $30 a period Ultimate terms reflects “the expanded catalog, caller spouse benefits, and upgraded unreality gaming experience.”

Xbox Game Pass Tier and Price Changes, October 2025:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $29.99 a month, up from $19.99 a month
• Xbox Game Pass Premium: $14.99 a month, the aforesaid arsenic the aged Standard subscription
• Xbox Game Pass Essential: $9.99 a month, the aforesaid arsenic the aged Core subscription
• PC Game Pass: $16.49 a month, up from $11.99

The updated pricing went into effect connected October 1 for caller subscribers, and volition spell into effect connected November 4 for existent subscribers. As portion of the announcement, Microsoft added much than 45 caller games to Game Pass, including Hogwarts Legacy. Check retired the afloat database here.

Despite these extras, has the Ultimate terms emergence forced a rethink among Game Pass subscribers? IGN readers person been discussing the changes and offering their thoughts successful the comments. They marque for absorbing reading, with immoderate saying they person present canceled their subscription.

Hertzwin, for example, pointed retired that $360 a twelvemonth (the caller terms for Ultimate crossed 12 months) is the aforesaid outgo arsenic buying 5 full-price games a twelvemonth astatine $70. “Looking astatine the Microsoft Studios releases, I don’t spot 5 games successful immoderate twelvemonth I’d privation to play,” they said. “There is nary savings present anymore for an mean gamer.”

“$30/month is insane,” added DippinDoansy. “No mode I'm keeping Game Pass now. I've already been moving much and much towards Steam. This is conscionable the last nail successful the coffin for me.”

“I person been an Xbox defender since the beginning, but this officially crosses the line,” commented shoeflavored1313. “Can’t judge I’m yet bailing connected Game Pass, but today’s that day. I conscionable cancelled. I'll conscionable spell backmost to buying games.”

RealFrowns, however, insisted Ultimate inactive offered them decent value. “By the extremity of this year, I volition person played good implicit $500 worthy of time 1 additions to Game Pass,” they said.

“So, adjacent astatine $360 / year, I would inactive beryllium redeeming wealth with Game Pass particularly if you instrumentality into relationship that I'd inactive request to subscribe to Core truthful my kids tin play Xbox online. So, it's lone a quality of $240 / twelvemonth that I'm paying to play those $500 games.

“That said, the spread betwixt what I'm playing and what I'm paying for gets smaller and smaller, which makes it rather a spot little appealing.”

And astatine slightest 1 IGN scholar sees worth successful the caller perks included successful Ultimate. “My archetypal thought was ouch! $30 but if it includes Fortnite Crew, which I’m already paying for… Then this isn’t truthful bad. I tin cancel Fortnite Crew, since it volition travel with Game Pass,” said Link3200.

Even GameStop got successful connected the act, earlier confirming it volition proceed to merchantability Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $19.99 a period in-store and online contempt Microsoft’s authoritative terms rise.

GameStop jumped connected the Game Pass terms rise. Image credit: GameStop / Twitter.

Meanwhile, immoderate Xbox fans person jumped connected subscription stacking successful a frantic bid to get up of the Ultimate terms hike. As IGN explained, the champion enactment for existing Ultimate subscribers was to stack their rank to its bounds (36 months) portion the alteration had yet to footwear successful astatine retailers similar Amazon.

Microsoft volition of people person braced itself for this benignant of reaction, and volition person tally the numbers connected a assortment of scenarios earlier deciding to hike the price. Perhaps it factored a grade of cancelations into its projections. It’s besides worthy noting that Microsoft has said Game Pass reached a caller yearly grounds of astir $5 cardinal successful gross this year, pursuing the launches of The Elder Scrolls Oblivion: Remastered, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

The upshot of each this is Xbox fans are faced with much costly gaming. Last month, Microsoft raised the terms of Xbox consoles successful the U.S. "due to changes successful the macroeconomic environment." Microsoft likewise raised eyebrows erstwhile it confirmed a $999.99 terms tag for the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, and $599.99 for the ROG Xbox Ally. At slightest Microsoft U-turned connected $80 games for this vacation season.

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].