Xbox just posted a huge update to how Game Pass works, and there are a lot of changes (mostly for the worse). Starting off, Ultimate, the top tier of the subscription, will now cost 29.99 USD per month, double the current 14.99 (for the reminder of the article, all prices will be in USD/month). The service will also now be split into 3 tiers: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate (this should look familiar to PlayStation players). Finally, PC Game Pass no longer exist as its own thing, instead all other 3 tiers being available on the console. Let's look at each tier separately to see what they offer, shall we?
New Pass, who this?
Going from smallest to biggest, Essential is the current Core tier, and that's where Core subscribers are being moved. It costs 9.99, and includes over 50 curated games, unlimited cloud gaming, onlince console multiplayer, and allows you to earn up to 25 USD a year for in-store rewards. The big one here is the addition of Cloud gaming, a feature that was only available for Ultimate subs.
Essentially, what was Core to the previous platform
Next up, Premium. This is where current Standard subscribers are moved to, for 14.99. For the price, you get everything in Essential, plus access to over 200 games, shorter wait times for cloud gaming, in-game benefits, up to 50 USD for use in the store, and first-party published titles... within a year. Yeah, Premium no longer gets Day-1 stuff, but at least you'll get it earlier than the Essential folks. Oh, except Call of Duty, you'll have to wait longer for that.
Premium price for a (sub-)Standard value
Lastly, there's Ultimate, which is largely unchanged aside from the 29.99 price. In addition to Premium, you get access to over 400 games, day 1 releases, the best quality and shorter wait times for cloud, and up to 100 USD a year of in-store credit. The bigger additions are the inclusion of Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew subscription.
Ultimately, what Microsoft wants you to pay for
And that's the gist of it. You'll notice I never mentioned what tier PC players are moved to, and that's because the article never mentions it. Mine is set to renew on the PC Game Pass tier, which should be defunct now, for the old price. If you're on PC, you might want to keep an out on it.
Update: Several sources, including The Verge and Windows Central, have confirmed that PC Game Pass will still exist, but will receive a price bump from 9.99 to 16.49, will still receive Day-1 titles, and will now also have access to Ubisoft+ Classics. For some reason, the Xbox Wire article makes no mention of that.
The more you p(l)ay, the more you earn, they say
Before I go, two more things. First, the above table is how the new rewards system works. As you can see, if you want better rewards, you'll need to fork over better money. Then, below is a list of games coming to each of the 3 ties, tough some of them may have already been on Game Pass beforehand. It's hard to keep track of all those changes.
- Ultimate – Available Today
- Hogwarts Legacy (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed II (PC)
- Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: Freedom Cry (PC)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (PC)
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD (PC)
- Assassin’s Creed Revelations (PC)
- Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection (Cloud and Console)
- Assassin’s Creed Unity (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Child of Light (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Far Cry 3 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Far Cry Primal (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Hungry Shark World (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Monopoly Madness (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Monopoly 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- OddBallers (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show (Cloud and Console)
- Rabbids: Party of Legends (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Rayman Legends (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Risk Urban Assault (Cloud and Console)
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Skull and Bones (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- South Park: The Stick of Truth (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Steep (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- The Crew 2 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- The Settlers: New Allies (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Trackmania Turbo (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Transference (Cloud and Console)
- Trials Fusion (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Trials of the Blood Dragon (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Trials Rising (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Uno (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Watch_Dogs (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Wheel of Fortune (Cloud and Console)
- Zombi (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Premium – Available Today (also in Ultimate)
- 9 Kings (Game Preview) (PC)
- Abiotic Factor (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Against the Storm (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (PC)
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (PC)
- Age of Mythology: Retold (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Ara: History Untold (PC)
- Arx Fatalis (PC)
- Back to the Dawn (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Battletech (PC)
- Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (PC)
- Cataclismo (PC)
- Cities: Skylines II (PC)
- Crime Scene Cleaner (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Diablo (PC)
- Diablo IV (PC and Console)
- An Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire (PC)
- The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (PC)
- Fallout (PC)
- Fallout 2 (PC)
- Fallout: Tactics (PC)
- Football Manager 2024 (PC)
- Frostpunk 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Halo: Spartan Strike (PC)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Manor Lords (Game Preview) (PC)
- Minami Lane (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Minecraft: Java Edition (PC)
- Mullet Madjack (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- One Lonely Outpost (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Quake 4 (PC)
- Quake III Arena (PC)
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC)
- Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (PC)
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Sworn (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
- Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC)
- Volcano Princess (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Warcraft I: Remastered (PC)
- Warcraft II: Remastered (PC)
- Warcraft III: Reforged (PC)
- Wolfenstein 3D (PC)
- Essential – Available Today (also in Ultimate and Premium)
- Cities: Skylines Remastered (Cloud and Xbox Series X|S)
- Disney Dreamlight Valley (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Hades (Cloud, PC, and Console)
- Warhammer 40,000 Darktide (Cloud, PC, and Console)
What do you think of these changes? Are you keeping your subscription, or is the price change bad enough to cancel? Let us know in the comments below!
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