Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Hits $30/Month: More Day One Games, Fortnite Crew & Ubisoft+ Included!

October has started with Microsoft announcing a substantial increase in the cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, marking another price adjustment just over a year after the previous one.

Previously, in July 2024, the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the U.S. escalated from $16.99 to $19.99, with similar increases noted globally. Concurrently, Microsoft introduced a new Standard tier priced at the former rate of Game Pass Ultimate, but without access to new games on their release dates.

Now, only 14 months following that increase, Microsoft has raised the price of the Ultimate plan again, this time to $29.99 per month—a 50% hike. This change means an additional $120 annually for U.S. subscribers. In the UK, the increase is slightly higher at 53.33%, with the monthly fee going from £14.99 to £22.99, adding £96 more per year.

This adjustment has led to the introduction of three enhanced Game Pass plans: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. These new options feature expanded game libraries, which now include PC games, unlimited cloud gaming, in-game benefits (including access to Riot Games), and improved rewards.

Subscribers to today’s Game Pass Core will be automatically upgraded to Essential, those on Standard will move to Premium, and Ultimate subscribers will stay on the Ultimate plan. Despite the price increase for Ultimate, the Premium plan will stay at $14.99, and Essential will remain at $9.99 per month.

The cost of PC Game Pass is also seeing a significant rise, with more than a third increase in price. It will now cost $16.49 in the U.S., up from $11.99, and in the UK, it will be £13.49 a month, previously £9.99.

Changes in Xbox Game Pass Tiers and Pricing, October 2025:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $29.99 a month, previously $19.99
• Xbox Game Pass Premium: $14.99 a month, unchanged from the old Standard rate
• Xbox Game Pass Essential: $9.99 a month, consistent with the old Core rate
• PC Game Pass: $16.49 a month, up from $11.99

The new pricing takes effect today, October 1, for new subscribers, and on November 4 for existing subscribers. Additionally, Microsoft has enriched Game Pass by adding over 45 new games today.

The substantial price increase for Ultimate is justified by Microsoft through the addition of more than 75 new day one game releases annually, inclusion of Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics for the first time, and enhancements to the Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality.

Beginning November 18, Fortnite Crew, which costs $11.99 / £9.99 monthly, will be included in Ultimate. This includes access to the Fortnite Battle Pass, 1,000 V-Bucks monthly, and other benefits. Today, Ubisoft+ Classics, valued at $7.99 / £6.99 per month, has been incorporated into Ultimate.

Improvements in cloud gaming are aimed at delivering better performance, with Ultimate subscribers receiving optimal streaming quality and reduced waiting times. Xbox Cloud Gaming has also officially moved out of beta to enhance gameplay smoothness and responsiveness.

Microsoft states that the revised pricing for Ultimate reflects the broader catalog, new partnerships, and an enhanced cloud gaming experience.

The Premium plan now includes access to over 200 games across Xbox consoles, PCs, and supported devices, with new Xbox-published games added within a year of their release, excluding Call of Duty titles. Premium also offers unlimited cloud gaming and new in-game benefits for games like League of Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Rainbow Six Siege X. Subscribers can earn up to 50k points globally in the Store by playing games, with double points on game and add-on purchases and a 5% rebate on selected Game Pass library titles and add-ons.

Essential now includes unlimited cloud gaming, online multiplayer, in-game benefits and rewards, and a curated library of over 50 games available on both console and PC. This adjustment means the Essential library is fully accessible on PC. Essential members can accumulate up to 25k points globally per year in the Store through gameplay and earn double points on game and add-on purchases.

These changes occur at a time when Game Pass is not only pivotal to Microsoft’s gaming division but also to the broader gaming community. Last month, criticism of the Game Pass model was voiced by former Bethesda executive Pete Hines and supported by a former Microsoft executive, who highlighted internal tensions caused by the subscription model.

In July, in the context of layoffs impacting Xbox, Raphael Colantonio, founder of Microsoft-owned Arkane Studios, criticized the Game Pass model as “unsustainable” on social media.

When elaborating on his views, Colantonio argued that Game Pass is a model overly reliant on Microsoft’s financial backing, potentially harmful to the industry, and incompatible with other business models.

Despite these criticisms, Microsoft maintains that both “creator participation” and “player engagement” in Game Pass are at record highs, though it did not update its subscriber count. The company announced that Game Pass had achieved nearly $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time this year, following major game launches.

Recent discussions about the costs associated with being an Xbox fan have surfaced, especially after a price increase for upcoming Xbox games and consoles in response to economic conditions. Microsoft also stirred discussions with the pricing of its new ROG Xbox Ally X handheld and ROG Xbox Ally.