Microsoft hikes Xbox game pass price as console costs jump again

Microsoft Corp. is upgrading its Xbox Game Pass subscription service with an expanded catalog and perks, while raising the price of the top-tier plan by 50%.

“As we continue to evolve Xbox Game Pass, we’re focused on delivering more value, more benefits, and more great games across every plan,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The price of the highest Game Pass subscription tier, called Ultimate, will rise by $10 to $30 a month. Subscribers will get access to more than 400 games, a broader selection of titles on release day and better cloud streaming quality. Prices for the service’s other two tiers, renamed Essential and Premium, will remain the same while they receive upgrades.

Game Pass had 34 million subscribers in 2024 and sales of nearly $5 billion in fiscal 2025

Xbox is focusing on Game Pass as it de-emphasizes the importance of its console amid shrinking sales. Xbox’s goal is to distribute its expanding network of content and services across multiple devices, including PCs, smartphones and smart TVs. Its new advertising campaigns invite gamers to play wherever they can, and especially through Game Pass.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023 for $69 billion was seen as a way to bolster Game Pass with a large library of new games.

Microsoft increases console prices for the second time this year

Cryptopolitan reported previouly Xbox consoles are also about to cost more in the U.S., and Microsoft says it’s not random. Starting this month, the company is bumping up the retail prices of all major Xbox models.

Gamers outside the U.S. won’t feel a thing. The company said that prices in other countries will stay the same. Accessories like controllers and headsets also won’t change. But if you’re in the U.S., and you’re planning to buy a new console, you’ll need to pay more. The hike affects every model. And this isn’t the first time, Microsoft already raised U.S. Xbox prices earlier this year.

The Xbox Series S is now $399, up from $379. The 1TB version costs $449. The Xbox Series X Digital model moves to $599, while the version with a disc drive is $649.

If you want the 2TB option, you’re looking at $799. That one’s up $70 from its previous price of $729. These changes were quietly posted in a PDF on Microsoft’s official site.

Industry-wide price increases follow tariff policy

Sony and Nintendo have also raised prices in the U.S. around the same time, right after Trump’s tariff policy took effect again. It’s not a coincidence.

Trump, who’s now back in the White House, reimposed tariffs this year on multiple countries. The goal was to bring manufacturing back to America. However it is resulting in more expensive gaming hardware for Americans.

On its site, Microsoft said, “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration.” Still, for buyers, it means spending more, again.

Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission raised concerns over price increases to Microsoft Corp.’s video game subscription service in an appeals court filing.

This followed Microsoft’s announcement that it will raise the price of its Game Pass Ultimate to $20 a month from $17. It’s also discontinued its $11-a-month Console Game Pass, which forced players to either pay 81% more to switch to Game Pass Ultimate or accept a “degraded product,” the FTC said in a filing Thursday with the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco.

“Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation, combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs, are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger,” the FTC wrote.

This time Microsoft is not spelling out Donald Trump’s name, but they’re making it clear “changes in the macroeconomic environment”, set in motion during his first term, are behind the move.

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