Microsoft Appears to Have Quietly Ditched the 10% Xbox Game Pass DLC Discount — Including for COD Points — This Week

As portion of arguable changes made to Xbox Game Pass this week, Microsoft has pulled the 10% discount connected DLC for Game Pass games that Ultimate subscribers were capable to get, seemingly successful favour of its caller Rewards scheme.

The quality archetypal emerged erstwhile the Call of Duty assemblage noticed that Ultimate subscribers were nary longer eligible for 10% disconnected COD Points purchases arsenic good arsenic Blackcell, the much costly mentation of Call of Duty’s conflict walk that tin lone beryllium bought straight with existent satellite wealth for $29.99. The discount was seen arsenic highly invaluable for fans who play Call of Duty via Game Pass.

CharlieIntel archetypal spotted the alteration successful the U.S., and IGN has verified the discount is nary longer disposable successful the UK. IGN has asked Microsoft for comment.

Xbox has removed the 10% discount that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members could get connected add-on contented for Call of Duty - including removing the discount connected Call of Duty Points and BlackCell arsenic portion of the changes to Game Pass this week. pic.twitter.com/ipaMgENuwi

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) October 3, 2025

It seems that this discount removal extends beyond Call of Duty, however. As spotted by PureXbox, the bulk of idiosyncratic DLC packs for Game Pass games nary longer person 10% disconnected for subscribers (except for EA Play games wherever the 10% simplification inactive applies).

The removal of the discount was not mentioned successful this week's Ultimate subscription terms emergence announcement. However, Microsoft did corroborate changes to however Ultimate subscribers gain cashback via its rewards system, and it's believed these changes enactment arsenic a replacement of sorts.

Here's Microsoft's blurb connected the upgraded Ultimate Rewards program:

Ultimate subscribers tin present gain up to $100 per twelvemonth (100,000 points globally) successful the Store conscionable by playing games. With our upgraded Rewards program, players tin get up to 30% worth connected prime Game Pass games, with 4x points connected purchases of games and add-ons, 10% backmost successful points connected prime Game Pass room titles and add-ons, and up to 20% disconnected prime Game Pass games.

Essentially, if you subscribe to Ultimate you get much points from COD Points purchases. Clearly, Microsoft’s play here, similar truthful galore retailers, is to support your wealth swirling astir its ecosystem alternatively than your slope account. As redditor dazzathomas explained: “The alteration is that Premium gets 5% much Rewards points and Ultimate gets 10% erstwhile buying add-on contented from Game Pass games. They privation you to walk the afloat magnitude and springiness the redeeming backmost to you successful Reward points truthful you walk those connected acquisition cards, keeping it successful the Xbox ecosystem alternatively than redeeming your ain money.”

Microsoft sparked a backlash for raising the terms of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 a period to $29.99 a period (an other $120 a year).

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.”

Interestingly, the caller Premium tier (what was called Standard) volition adhd caller Xbox-published games wrong a twelvemonth of their launch, but that excludes Call of Duty games. This means that if you privation to play Call of Duty via Game Pass, you’re beauteous overmuch forced into paying for Ultimate. Over the people of a year, that’s $360. And now, you don’t adjacent get 10% disconnected COD Points oregon BlackCell.

Fans are moving the numbers and reassessing whether Game Pass remains close for them. Black Ops 7, which conscionable launched successful beta signifier up of its November merchandise date, is simply a $70 crippled (Microsoft back-tracked connected $80 aft a gamer outcry astatine the outgo of Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2). Perhaps the determination to instrumentality with $70 for Black Ops 7 has travel astatine an further outgo for some Microsoft and players.

IGN’s canvass connected the issue, which present has implicit 22,000 voters, shows 52% of our assemblage volition not subscribe to Game Pass astatine all. 22.5% said they were going for Ultimate contempt the terms rise.

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