Gaming
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Price Hikes & Price History (2026)
Updated June 10, 2026 · Researched & fact-checked by Shaheer
Game Pass Ultimate rose from $16.99 to $19.99 in July 2024, then jumped 50% to $29.99 in October 2025. After the hike drove millions of cancellations, Microsoft reversed course in April 2026 and cut Ultimate to $22.99/month (PC Game Pass fell from $16.49 to $13.99), a rare subscription price rollback.
At a glance
- Current price
- $22.99 (Ultimate)
- Last increase
- April 21, 2026 (-23.3%)
- Total change tracked
- +35.3%
- Tracked increases
- 3
Key takeaways
- Game Pass Ultimate rose from $16.99 to $19.99 (July 2024) and then 50% to $29.99 (October 2025).
- The October 2025 hike backfired: Game Pass lost millions of subscribers, and leaked memos showed Microsoft itself calling the service too expensive.
- On April 21, 2026 Microsoft cut Ultimate back to $22.99/month and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99, one of the only price rollbacks among major subscriptions.
- Even after the cut, Ultimate costs 35% more than it did in mid-2024.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase history
| Date | Plan | Region | Old → New | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2026 | Ultimate | US | $29.99 → $22.99 | -23.3% | Source |
| October 1, 2025 | Ultimate | US | $19.99 → $29.99 | +50% | Source |
| July 10, 2024 | Ultimate | US | $16.99 → $19.99 | +17.7% | Source |
What Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs right now
- Ultimate: $22.99 (US)
- PC Game Pass: $13.99 (US)
Xbox Game Pass: the hike that went too far
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate went from $16.99 to $19.99 in July 2024 and then jumped 50% to $29.99 in October 2025, nearly doubling in about 15 months, one of the fastest-rising subscriptions tracked here. Microsoft tied the increase to day-one access to first-party titles like Call of Duty following the Activision Blizzard acquisition, plus added cloud and Ubisoft+ content.
Then came the reversal. The hike drove millions of cancellations, Microsoft acknowledged internally that the service had become too expensive, and on April 21, 2026, under new Microsoft Gaming leadership, Ultimate was cut to $22.99/month and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99. Price rollbacks this size are almost unheard of in subscriptions — it took visible, large-scale churn to force one.
The episode cuts both ways for subscribers: cancellations demonstrably work as a price signal, but note that even after the cut, Ultimate is still 35% above its mid-2024 price. If you kept paying $29.99 through the cut, check that your bill actually dropped — billing systems do not always pass reductions on automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Did Xbox Game Pass raise its price in 2025?
Yes. In October 2025 Microsoft raised Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99/month, a 50% increase, effective immediately for new subscribers and from November 4 for existing ones.
Did Xbox Game Pass get cheaper in 2026?
Yes. On April 21, 2026 Microsoft cut Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99/month and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99, after the October 2025 hike drove millions of cancellations.
How much does Xbox Game Pass Ultimate cost now?
As of April 2026, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is $22.99/month and PC Game Pass is $13.99/month in the US.
Why did Xbox Game Pass get so expensive?
Microsoft attributed the 2024-2025 increases to day-one first-party releases (including Call of Duty after the Activision Blizzard deal) plus added cloud and Ubisoft+ content. The 50% jump proved too aggressive and was partially rolled back in April 2026.