Microsoft has announced a revision to the pricing of its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Two of the four plans will see a decrease in price, albeit with some changes to their content.
The Ultimate plan's price will drop from $29.99 to $22.99, but it will no longer include new Call of Duty titles at launch. Instead, these will be available during the following holiday season, approximately one year later. Existing Call of Duty titles will still be accessible.
Additionally, the PC Game Pass plan will now be priced at $13.99, down from $16.49. The same delay for accessing new Call of Duty titles that applies to the Ultimate plan will also affect the PC plan.
The pricing and benefits for the Essential and Premium plans remain unchanged.
In October of last year, Microsoft had announced significant price increases for the Xbox Game Pass. The Ultimate plan saw a staggering 50% hike, with the PC plan increasing by 37.5%. While the lower-tier plans maintained their pricing, they experienced considerable reductions in game offerings.
Microsoft attempted to justify these price hikes by including features like Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew, but many users found these upgrades unnecessary. The backlash was so intense that it caused the Microsoft website to crash as users rushed to cancel their subscriptions.
In response to the backlash, Microsoft acted quickly, but the new prices remain higher than the previous rates for both the Ultimate ($19.99) and PC Game Pass ($11.99) plans before the hikes. Critics argue this may be an example of price anchoring. Many users now find these plans less appealing, particularly as they previously preferred them for immediate access to new Call of Duty titles. Additionally, the Essential and Premium plans continue to feel inadequate due to their limited libraries, serving primarily as decoys to entice users toward the Ultimate plan.
Nonetheless, for those interested in the two higher-tier plans, the new pricing makes them cheaper than they were just days ago.
Source
