Microsoft said on Tuesday it is reducing the monthly cost of its Game Pass subscription plans and will no longer include new Call of Duty releases on launch day. The company described the pricing change as effective immediately in a blog post, cutting Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 per month from $29.99 and lowering PC Game Pass to $13.99 from $16.49 per month.
This marks a notable strategic pivot for the Xbox business under the leadership of Asha Sharma. Company executives enacted the change after years of pursuing subscriptions and cloud gaming as the principal growth engines for the Xbox brand. Microsoft had previously relied on steady Game Pass pricing increases, even as console sales softened and the service faced criticism for an uneven slate of exclusive titles. Those dynamics, the company acknowledged, left Xbox behind competitors Sony and Nintendo in certain respects.
One concrete reversal announced on Tuesday concerns the handling of new Call of Duty releases. Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, the company had opted to include new Call of Duty games on Game Pass at launch. Microsoft said it will now add new Call of Duty entries to Game Pass about a year after their initial release, rather than on day one.
The decision comes amid a leadership transition at Xbox. Microsoft experienced executive departures in February, with Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond leaving the division, after which Asha Sharma took charge. Reporting cited an internal memo in which Sharma acknowledged that Game Pass had become too expensive for many players.
The pricing adjustments and the shift in how blockbuster titles are brought into the subscription catalog represent the first major set of changes identified with Sharma’s tenure. Microsoft framed the moves as adjustments to its subscription approach, while also reversing a high-profile offering that followed the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Context provided by the company:
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $22.99 per month, down from $29.99.
- PC Game Pass: $13.99 per month, down from $16.49.
- New Call of Duty games will be added to Game Pass services about one year after release.