Xbox Game Pass Price Drops But Loses Call of Duty

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate just got a price cut. Effective immediately, the top-tier subscription drops from $29.99 to $22.99 per month. PC Game Pass also falls from $16.49 to $13.99.

That's the good news. The bad news: new Call of Duty games will no longer launch on the service.

Microsoft confirmed the change in a brief announcement, following a leaked memo from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma that Game Pass had become "too expensive." The October 2025 price hike, a 50% jump for Ultimate, clearly backfired.

Guess more subscriptions did not offset the revenue loss on sales which is not surprising.

• Reddit u/mrfixitx

What Actually Changed

New prices (starting today):

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $29.99 to $22.99/month
• PC Game Pass: $16.49 to $13.99/month

What you lose:

• Future Call of Duty titles no longer arrive day one.
• New CoD games will join Game Pass about a year later (the following holiday season).

What stays:

• Existing CoD titles already in the library remain.
• Hundreds of other games, online console multiplayer, cloud gaming, and other day-one first-party releases.

This is effectively a rollback of the controversial October 2025 hike, but with a major string attached. Before that hike, Ultimate cost $19.99. Now it's $22.99 and missing Call of Duty at launch.

Why This Happened

The math is brutal. According to reports, Call of Duty lost an estimated $300 million in sales after being added to Game Pass. Players on Xbox simply stopped buying the game. Why would they? It was "free" with their sub.

Microsoft's problem: Game Pass subscribers are price-sensitive. The $30 price point triggered mass cancellations. Internal projections for Xbox content revenue came in below target, and hardware sales fell 32% after Microsoft canceled development on two major titles.

Sharma's solution is a trade-off: lower the price to win back subs, but protect CoD's direct sales by pulling it from day-one access.

The big worry here is that the next big 1st party game will also be excluded from game pass.

• Reddit u/mrfixitx

Who Wins and Who Loses

If you don't play Call of Duty: You just got a $7 monthly discount. That's $84 saved per year. No downside.

If you play CoD every year: You now pay $22.99/month + $69.99 for the new CoD. Annual total: $345.87. Before the hike (when Ultimate was $19.99 and included CoD day one), you paid $239.88. You're paying $106 more per year.

If you were subscribed at $29.99 and don't play CoD: You're saving money. No loss.

If you bought an annual sub yesterday: You're out of luck. Microsoft isn't offering refunds or extensions.

$84 a year not to have CoD on launch seems a fair trade, $30 less a year on PC less so.

• Reddit u/Fob0bqAd34

The Slippery Slope Question

Here's what nobody is talking about. If Call of Duty can be excluded from day-one Game Pass, what stops Microsoft from doing the same with The Elder Scrolls 6? Or the next Fallout? Or Gears of War?

Microsoft's original promise was all first-party games day one on Game Pass. That promise is now broken. The company says only CoD is affected, but once you punch a hole in that wall, pressure builds to punch more.

The promise was for all first party games day 1. Removing COD would set the precedent for other big games like Elder Scrolls 6.

• Reddit u/akbarock

Microsoft's official statement tries to reassure: "Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will continue to have access to hundreds of games on Xbox console and PC including current Call of Duty titles, in-game benefits, online console multiplayer, and major day one releases."

The phrasing "major day one releases" is vague. Does that still include Bethesda RPGs? For now, yes, but trust is fragile.

The Subscription Economy Reality Check

This is the first major price cut for a gaming subscription service in years. Netflix, Spotify, and every other subscription has only gone up. Microsoft is going in reverse.

That tells you how badly the $30 price point hurt them.

Game Pass Ultimate price history:

1. June 2019: $14.99 (launch)
2. August 2023: $16.99
3. July 2024: $19.99
4. October 2025: $29.99 (+50%)
5. April 2026: $22.99 (-23%)

They raised the price 50% in one move, lost subscribers, and are now walking it back while cutting a major feature. That's not a win. That's damage control.

This is a classic strategy by corpos. Make service shittier, then say 'we listened' and dial back some of the shittiness while still having it worse than the original state.

• Reddit u/NoNefariousness2144

Bottom Line

Should you resubscribe?

If you dropped Game Pass at $29.99 and don't care about Call of Duty: Yes. $22.99 is still higher than the old $19.99, but the library remains strong and cloud gaming is genuinely useful.

If you're a Call of Duty annual buyer: No. You're better off buying CoD outright and skipping Game Pass unless you play 5+ other games on the service per year.

If you're on PC: PC Game Pass at $13.99 is a great deal. You don't pay for online multiplayer anyway, and you keep day-one access to everything except CoD.

Microsoft's new CEO is making the hard calls. Sharma inherited a mess: overpriced subscriptions, falling hardware sales, and a $75 billion Activision acquisition that isn't paying off as expected. This price cut buys time. But breaking the day-one promise is dangerous. Once subscribers start questioning what's not included, the value proposition cracks.

For now, the service is cheaper. That's real money back in your pocket. Just don't expect to play the next Black Ops on launch day without paying full price.

Read Microsoft's full announcement for official details. You can also check the Xbox Game Pass support page for regional pricing and account management.

For the latest Game Pass additions and removals, follow the official Xbox Wire.