Starting today, Xbox subscribers are witnessing a rare Game Pass change: a significant price drop. After six months of paying $30 per month, the cost of Game Pass Ultimate is unexpectedly falling back down to $23. This shift comes under the leadership of new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma.
The Details Behind the New Price Point
While the lower cost is a win for many, there is a major caveat to consider. This specific tier no longer includes Call of Duty entries on their respective launch days. However, for the millions of players who subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate but don't play Call of Duty, this price reduction is a massive victory.
This news follows an internal memo written by Sharma that suggested the price of Game Pass had risen too much. In the wake of today's official announcement, the "leaked" memo feels more like a controlled leak intended to tease the public.
Whether it was a deliberate strategy or not, it is interesting to see what shape Xbox will take under Sharma’s leadership. It remains to be seen how many more shifts we will see from Microsoft in the coming months.
Why the Next Game Pass Change Could Be Problematic
Despite the excitement over today's Game Pass change, there is lingering anxiety about what might follow. Since 2017, the service has evolved many times, but one boundary hasn't been crossed yet: the involvement of specific types of intrusive advertising.
There are several ways these ads could be implemented into the ecosystem:
- Picture-in-picture overlays during gameplay.
- Static banner ads within menus.
- Video advertisements that interrupt active sessions.
While many games within the service already utilize some form of advertising, players generally don't balk at it when it is seamless. For example, I don't mind that there is a Jordan store inside the social hub, "The City," in NBA 2K.
However, the next Game Pass change shouldn't involve ads that break the immersion. No player wants their time in a high-stakes match interrupted by an advertisement for new sneakers.
