Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Jumps to $29.99 — 400+ Games, 75+ Day-One Releases and New Perks
Microsoft is reshuffling Xbox Game Pass subscriptions and raising the price of the top tier: Game Pass Ultimate will jump to $29.99 per month, while the other tiers mostly keep their current pricing and libraries.
Price and plans
Starting now, Microsoft has renamed its three Game Pass tiers and adjusted pricing for the top option. The previous tier names — Core, Standard, and Ultimate — will now be called Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. Most notably, the Ultimate plan rises to $29.99 per month, a $10 increase from its prior price.
Microsoft’s announcement with the full plan details can be found on this Xbox News post.
What Ultimate includes
The Ultimate tier will continue to offer access across Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and cloud. Microsoft says Ultimate will now include access to 400+ games, with more than 75 day-one games per year, and it will include all Xbox-published games on day one.
Ultimate also gains a few services that were previously separate: EA Play (which had been included), Ubisoft Plus Classics, and Fortnite Crew are folded into the monthly Ultimate subscription. In addition, Microsoft promises improved cloud performance, saying users will get “unlimited cloud gaming at our best quality with the shortest wait times,” as part of the package.
Microsoft is adding 45 new titles to the Ultimate tier at launch, including Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Skull and Bones.
Premium and Essential changes
The Premium tier now includes 200+ games across console, PC, and supported devices, and it remains priced at $14.99 per month. Microsoft says Premium will include big catalog staples like Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, and current hits such as Forza Horizon 5, Diablo IV, and Hogwarts Legacy. Microsoft also promises that Xbox-published games will arrive on Premium within a year of launch, with the explicit exclusion of new Call of Duty titles.
The rebranded Essential tier is unchanged in price at $9.99 per month. It will offer “unlimited cloud gaming, online multiplayer, in-game benefits, and Rewards with Xbox,” plus a curated catalog of 50+ games playable on both console and PC.
Recent history and console prices
Microsoft previously adjusted Game Pass in July 2024, when Ultimate was raised to $19.99 per month. Now, with this new change, Ultimate moves again to $29.99.
Separately, Microsoft will raise Xbox hardware prices effective Oct. 3. For example, the Xbox Series X will increase to $649.99, up from $599.99.
