Xbox Game Pass - Changes & Price Increases

Ldazza826 on 02/10/2025 - 07:25
Last edited 02/10/2025 - 07:58

Hi All,

Apologies for the wall of text :

Source :

https://press-start.com.au/news/xbox/2025/10/01/xbox-game-pa…

Price increases how wonderful:

These new prices will come into effect tonight for new subscribers and November 4th for existing subscribers.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – $35.95 per month (up from $22.95 per month)
PC Game Pass – $19.45 per month (up from $13.95 per month)
Xbox Game Pass Premium – $17.95 per month (up from $15.95 per month)
Xbox Game Pass Essential – $12.95 per month (up from $10.95 per month)

New tiers :

There are three new tiers in the Xbox Game Pass line-up and a bunch of new games will join each of these platforms as a result.

Xbox Game Pass Essential: Required to play games online and now includes cloud gaming, in-game benefits and rewards as well as a catalogue of 50+ games that are playable on both console and PC.
Xbox Game Pass Premium: Will also include Cloud gaming in addition to over 200+ games on Xbox consoles and PC as well as new Xbox-published games to the service (excluding Call of Duty) within a year of launch in addition to rewards
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Xbox Cloud Gaming will now stream at a higher 1440p, with access to over 75 day one releases a year and will also get new rewards such as Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft + classics.

Game pass code options :

You can no longer buy game pass via Microsoft rewards.

Gpu members get a slight reward point increase.

Gift cards have a 90 day expiry once activated on an account.

Cheaper codes from other countries for game pass last I checked was mostly patched on existing accounts even with a VPN/region change.

Maximum you can stack is 36 months.

Shopback has a 11% cashback for game pass core but this coverts at the essential to ultimate rate.

There may be other deals out there.

Coversion rates are worse :

https://support.xbox.com/en-au/help/subscriptions-billing/ma…

Core 1 month now converts at the essential to ultimate rate (the table still has old rates)

Xbox Game Pass Essential conversion percentage: 40% of your remaining time will convert to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time and be rounded up to the next full day. For example, 90 days remaining of Xbox Game Pass Essential will convert to 36 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time.

Any other changes:

Dev of xbplay decided to unpublish his paid remote play app and cant talk about it i.e he is either under a NDA from Microsoft now or had to take it down.

Pokémon go to the polls:

What will you do now that there is a price increase for game pass?

Poll Options

  • 2
    I'll take the massive price increase
  • 68
    I will cancel and save some dollarydoos
  • 8
    I'm undecided at this stage
  • 7
    I'm paid up for ages so it doesn't affect me yet
  • 6
    I will change tiers instead to save
Gaming Microsoft PC Game Subscription Video Game Xbox One Game Xbox Series Game

Comments

  • pegaxs on 02/10/2025 - 07:40
    +6

    WTF! I gave up on Ultimate when it crashed past $18 a month… you’re now telling me it is going up to $35+? God, I’m glad I got off that plan.

    There was talk of M$ getting out of the games business because of slumping Xbox sales, and now I see why. This just seems like the same stupid economic modelling of ramp up the prices to cover the short fall and then head scratch why people leave in droves so they have to jack the prices again to cover people leaving.

    Also, poll options are stupid and don’t match the question.

    what will you do now that there is a price increase coming.

    Yes!.

    • dazza826 on 02/10/2025 - 07:47

      Apologies have tweaked the poll questions.

      Just curious what everyone will do.

      I'm banked up until 28th September 2027 so I'll wait for deals to come up on game pass cards and then add more until I hit the 36 month cap.

    • AnnoyingEshayLad on 02/10/2025 - 10:43

      this is what adobe is doing, underdogs always win long term as these companies collapse on upper management profit taking

  • Kirbieb on 02/10/2025 - 07:41

    I will keep using it if i can find deals. No way i can justify the price theyre asking.

    Does anyone know if you can still share it by having your home console set somewhere else, I might have to split the cost with someone else.

    • dazza826 on 02/10/2025 - 08:01

      https://support.xbox.com/en-AU/help/hardware-network/console…

      Still works, think it's 5 changes to primary console per year for an account.

      Its what I use to share my content from my overseas account with my primary console.

      What you can share

      Share these with anyone who signs in to your home Xbox:

      Games and downloadable content from the Microsoft Store
      Games from an Xbox Game Pass subscription

      Account-specific items can't always be shared.

      Some examples are:

      Game-specific content like Minecraft Skin Mashups or Halo REQ Packs purchased with in-game currencies

      In-game currency such as Minecraft Coins
      Certain pre-order bonuses and special edition content that can only be redeemed once

  • Koulie on 02/10/2025 - 07:44
    +5

    Game Pass has gone from gaming’s best deal to subpar value, ironically making buying games outright more appealing again.

    Why is Xbox tanking its brand. They’re already struggling in the console race and hiking prices, they’re going to face backlash for their handheld/PC cross-platform push. It’ll be tough to market this amid their self-inflicted brand damage.

  • Hendo16 on 02/10/2025 - 08:20

    Timing isn't great, I've got until 26 Jan on Ultimate - was always way too expensive but the ~$190 for 3 years trick is what's kept me around. Guess all good things have to come to an end - although realistically the thing I used it most for was Battlefield and Indiana Jones.

  • Porker on 02/10/2025 - 08:37

    Ugh… Just yesterday when first reading of losing CORE, I claimed 14,000 points for Ultimate. I saw that level 2 was 12,000 points and I was only just a few points away from that level so farmed it only to find that Ultimate also (today) disappeared.

  • SnowDragon on 02/10/2025 - 08:44

    Mine expired yesterday. Seems like there's no VPN options anymore.

    I was willing to pay about $50-60 a year for it but not $20 a month.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 02/10/2025 - 08:45
    +3

    I kind of miss cloud streaming games pass but not worth at this price

  • plmko on 02/10/2025 - 08:49
    +3

    Own nothing; be happy.

    Buy your games, own forever.

  • Azif on 02/10/2025 - 08:59

    Is cheapest to just buy 3m cards now?

  • waitinghopefully on 02/10/2025 - 09:13

    Can someone please explain the maths to me?

    I currently have GPU until June 2026.
    I bought 3 years worth of Core codes several months ago so that I can convert them to GPU after my subscription ended.

    Should I:
    1. convert the Core codes to GPU now (before November 4th) even though my GPU is still active?
    2. wait until my GPU expires in June 2026, then convert?
    3. does the conversion concept still exist??
    4. can I even use my Core codes now that it has been rebranded as Essential??

    • jk82 on 02/10/2025 - 09:48

      I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but my instinct would be to cash those in ASAP before they become literally worthless.

    • dazza826 on 02/10/2025 - 10:16
      +1

      No issues using core codes worked fine for me.
      Conversion still exists.

      The ones I bought from shopback expired on 31/12/2025 to redeem though.

      Rates for converting existing game pass core to ultimate and adding game pass core to existing ultimate below.

      https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/subscriptions-billing/ma…

      Upgrading to Game Pass Ultimate from core
      90 days of existing game pass core = 36 days.

      Adding core to existing ultimate
      90 days of core = 32 days of Ultimate (1+ month)

      Up to you if you wait to expire, start core then convert.

      You'll get more days but this conversion rate could change between now and then.

      Codes you bought may have an expiry as well for redemption.

  • NewGuy2000 on 02/10/2025 - 09:48
    +5

    Most of this year I have been on Ultimate and loved it - on my handheld, on my xbox, and especially on cloud gaming. But this news sickens me. This would be "OK" if everyone in Australia was getting a 50% pay rise to match - such a huge price hike is unjustifiable. I just looked at what Essential includes to see if I should downgrade. As they expanded cloud to this and other tiers, I am tempted to switch to that after my ultimate expires (<40 days left). Ironically, I just upgraded my home to fibre yesterday to improve my cloud gaming experience! Ouch!
    I did some calcs today and maxing MS Rewards (~469 points/day) with Ultimate seems to net about $24/month via MS gift cards.. so I would need to add the $6/month remaining. Hmm, still weighing up options here.
    PC game pass conversion to Ultimate still seems to be 3:2 ratio, so the new price of $19.45 for PC game pass means I could add $20 MS gift cards (11750 points) to my account about every 25 days..I'll gradually run out of accumulated points though.. this looks to be the best method for using my points.

    • paragon on 02/10/2025 - 12:38
      +1

      It's madness isn't it. Feels insulting to their loyal fanbase, to their customers and to gamers in general who had any interest in the brand.

      Microsoft deliberately bundled all their additional GPU offerings into the existing GPU plan as a means of justifying the price hike. They should've created a new GPU plan with the higher price point that includes all the new additional stuff and kept the existing GPU plan as is.

      Curious to know approx how long does it take you to earn approx 469 MS Rewards points per day?

      • NewGuy2000 on 02/10/2025 - 13:53

        It is 84 days to earn 469 points a day, because that includes the 84 day/1000 point bonus for consecutive searching. Without that bonus it's around 458 points a day, once you get a get past 3 weeks (21 days) of consecutive game pass usage (assuming at least 5 days/week of game pass game play), assuming you're maxing everything else.
        Maxing MS Rewards is a lot of work though - searching, clicking, gaming. Really, it is like getting paid 75c a day for 30 mins "work" per day.

        • Guybrush57 on 03/10/2025 - 00:52
          +3

          I maxed it daily for two months before realising I was wasting my life

    • NewGuy2000 on 02/10/2025 - 21:44

      ok, I miscalculated - I would need to add the $12/month remaining (GPU is now $36, not $30), so it would be $144/year out of pocket if I use credit from reward points. That changes it quite a bit. I'm now leaning towards maxing points while I have Ultimate, then use these for MS gift cards to pay for Essential Tier ($14) - hopefully that will last a few months, after which I'll probably ditch game pass altogether.
      One thing's for sure - I'm glad I bought a disc based XBox rather than digital, so I can borrow games from the library. M$ is going to have a hard time selling those digital consoles this Christmas, with GPU being so expensive!

    • NewGuy2000 on 03/10/2025 - 18:54

      BTW, I did some further calcs today and found that maxing rewards points (even without having GP ultimate benefits) and by using MS Store vouchers to top your Microsoft account balance, will be more than enough to purchase GP Essential every month!

    • hughes on 03/10/2025 - 21:17

      As they expanded cloud to this and other tiers

      hmm not bad. the price hike was overwhelmingly negative compared to the added benefits. essential would probably be good enough for me, that and the pile of free games on epic i've yet to play

  • CascadeHush on 02/10/2025 - 10:03

    How about "Piracy is starting to look like a better option"

    Any dev stupid enough to put their game on gamepass doesn't deserve what little money they get from that. For me it always was just a fancy demo service - try the game to see if I want to buy it on steam. But for that price I'd serious consider using Piracy as a demo service.

    Any to anybody who mentions the 2 hours steam refund window, it's not enough. Devs know about it and they are building their games around that 2 hour window. I've bought plenty of games that dropped off considerably after that initial window.

    • Guybrush57 on 02/10/2025 - 11:25

      Not to mention the intro videos, company logos, settings you have to change, compiling shaders etc

  • bikboy on 02/10/2025 - 10:59

    I just want to play online without having to download the free games, which I will never use. Can anyone explain to me why an MS Studios crossplay game can be played online for free on PC, but I need to pay for it on the Xbox?

    • Azif on 02/10/2025 - 11:47

      $s

  • Guybrush57 on 02/10/2025 - 11:07
    +3

    I saw game pass ultimate this morning for $35.95pm on Microsoft's website and I thought it must've been a mistake. They can take a hike.

    EDIT: Time to sell the Xboxes I think.

    EDIT2: Also one step closer to moving my PCs to Linux.

  • Danstar on 02/10/2025 - 11:48
    +1

    Wow. That is a big jump. My kids GPU expires this year, does the VPN 'hack' still work ?

  • RocketToSpace on 02/10/2025 - 12:08
    +1

    Can someone give me the short version on why the prices have increased this much?!? It's disgusting.
    $36 a month… F*** my life. Playstation will see this and follow suit same as Nintendo it's just a matter of time.

    Gaming on Console is for the wealthy these days.
    Steam is about to have a huge jump in Players.

    • paragon on 02/10/2025 - 12:32
      +1

      My short version opinion: Microsoft admitting that Game Pass wasn't ever profitable/isn't profitable enough

  • Daabido on 02/10/2025 - 12:14
    -2

    Ridge Racer on PS1. That was peak gaming. Slap the disk in, bounce off the walls, win all the races.

  • Ecstatic on 02/10/2025 - 12:33

    I have just long enough left to play through the new Call of Duty, then I'm out.

    2 months of Ultimate now equals the same cost of a new game. At that point, it just makes more sense to purchase them.

    GPU is realistically worth about $15/m.

  • Rated3 on 02/10/2025 - 12:43

    Are the price increases only for the month sub through Xbox?

    • RocketToSpace on 02/10/2025 - 13:02
      +1

      No this will be changing everywhere including gift cards. Best start going to stores or websites still selling them at $22.95 and stack up.

      • Rated3 on 02/10/2025 - 13:06

        I was about to get this:
        https://www.harveynorman.com.au/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-3-mo…

        But scrolling down it says PC Game Pass in the description. Unless I'm reading it wrong, I think that's only for PC (I play on Xbox).

        • RocketToSpace on 02/10/2025 - 13:10

          Nope that's for Xbox too. Ultimate covers both PC and Xbox.
          Should get it because soon that's gonna be close to $100.

          • Rated3 on 02/10/2025 - 13:22

            @RocketToSpace: Alright thanks, I'm going to opt for the 1 month instead of 3 in one go. That way I have a little flexibility when I use it

  • Lord_Sif on 02/10/2025 - 13:05
    +2

    So lame, had my points stacked and didn't know they were removing it from rewards. Oh well, Dan Murphy's it is.

  • GunnerMcDagget on 02/10/2025 - 14:36
    +2

    When they announced the price change in the US, the Microsoft website crashed 'cause too many people jumped on at the same time to cancel their subscriptions.

    I stacked up with the Telstra deal but after that expires, I will definitely cancel. If you have the time to game 4 hours a day then it's probably worth it. But for us that have families and a maximum of 4 gaming hours per week, it's just not worth it.

  • mantra on 02/10/2025 - 15:09
    +1

    Goodbye for now!
    Your subscription will end on 1/15/2026 and you will not be charged again.

    turn off reoccurring billing here

  • mooney on 02/10/2025 - 15:23

    Ok, I feel its time to sell the kids Xbox and move to a Steam setup at home. Gonna research best SteamOS setup. Any tips appreciated…

  • Steven Reece Lewis on 02/10/2025 - 17:57
    +1

    Amazon seem to be actively rejecting the 3 month game pass ultimate subscription purchase at the previous cheaper price or is it my account?

    • acantoni on 03/10/2025 - 10:24

      they canceled my order twice already

      • Steven Reece Lewis on 03/10/2025 - 15:55

        They finally accepted one my 2 X 3 month with the $10 discount (over $100 spend) but I think it's caused I whinged to customer service

    • Sef on 03/10/2025 - 16:10

      I just bought 2 3 month codes from amazon and it worked fine for me when l redeemed the codes

  • narcoleptic-haze on 03/10/2025 - 09:37

    I'm paid up until April 2026 but this, along with the rest of the way it's going for Xbox, I've actually decided to jump ship and have just bought a PS5. My first Playstation console since the original. With a sub to PS+ Deluxe and having never played any PS exclusive games, my back-catalogue just exploded haha.

  • cunningdrew on 03/10/2025 - 10:04

    Gamepass expires here in 2 days. Is it too late to buy up for 3 years? VPN no longer working?

  • Odin on 03/10/2025 - 11:45
    +2

    Microsoft continuing to try to kill the Xbox brand

  • HardlyNormal on 03/10/2025 - 11:58

    Retailers should still be at the old price for anyone who wants to stack

  • vasya on 03/10/2025 - 13:35

    Does anyone know if Xbox pass can be purchased using the Xbox Gift Card that can be purchased using Rewards points ?

    • dazza826 on 03/10/2025 - 16:13
      +1

      The balance can be used to pay for game pass.

      The codes have an expiry date when they are generated as a reward and the code is sent to you.

      Once the code is applied to your account that balance has a 90 day expiry.

    • NewGuy2000 on 03/10/2025 - 18:23

      Yep, in one of the "redeem MS credit" options there is a dropdown box for $5,$10,$25 or "custom". Custom would be good for specifying e.g. $14 if you are looking to get Essential GP. When redeemed a record of it goes to your email and can be found in your MS Rewards->Redeem->Order History. Your MS account balance should reflect the new balance.

      When you pay for the game pass, it will ask you for a payment method. Choose to use your MS account balance. I did have one time when I had issues and I connected to their help chat and they happily sorted it for me.

      Always remember to cancel reoccurring billing (found under your account -> subscriptions) to avoid being caught out the following month.

  • watdahelly on 03/10/2025 - 17:35
    +2

    Once users are locked in the psychology shifts. Someones invested time and money into the service, so leaving feels like losing something bigger than the price hike. This is why Netflix’s profits climbed despite backlash and probs why Microsoft is betting the same strategy will work.

    Make a message with your wallets people.

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