Xbox confirms another Game Pass price increase and a new tier that doesn’t include day one releases

Xbox has confirmed the details of another Game Pass price increase.

In an FAQ page on Xbox’s support website, it’s confirmed that a price increase will go into effect for new subscribers on July 10 and for existing subscribers on September 12.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the company’s flagship subscription games service, is increasing from $17 a month to $20 a month in the US, while the PC Game Pass tier is increasing from $10 a month to $12 a month. A year of Xbox Core is going up from $60 to $75. Here’s the complete sheet of price changes for plan and country. Xbox Game Pass Core, AKA Xbox Live Gold, is increasing from $60 to $75 for a year, while the $10 monthly option isn’t changing.

Notably, the Console tier of Game Pass is being replaced with the new Standard tier, which won’t include any day one releases. All subscription tiers previously included certain Xbox releases the day they were launched, but the new Standard option won’t give subscribers that perk. This new tier will launch for new subscribers in “the coming months” and will cost $15 in the US. Xbox says existing Console tier subscribers will be able to keep their plans with no changes.

The wording here is a little vague, but Xbox says “some games available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on day one will not be immediately available with Xbox Game Pass Standard and may be added to the library at a future date,” seemingly implying that only some Game Pass Ultimate day one drops will be excluded from the Standard tier and added at a later date. I’ve reached out to Xbox for clarification and will update this story if I hear back.

The last time the Game Pass price was increased was back in June 2023.

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