This shouldn't come as a surprise. MS has been offering game pass at a good value for a while now to entice users and grow their platform. Now it's time to start squeezing value. Standard enshitification cycle stuff here, and a good reason not to play their game.

I paid for it for a while some time ago, but stopped because I don't play many recent games anymore. I can wait for the games to be very cheap and buy them on Steam or GOG, and also play more indie games than ever, and I also have retro gaming.

It was obvious from the start that they would start rising prices as soon as they got to a critical number of subscribers, it was too good to be true for a long time. I think the regular subscription was something like 5€ a month when I used it, now the price has doubled and it's going to keep rising without a doubt.

I tend to pick up Gamepass for 1 month at a time when there is a game I want to play on there. Last time it was Hellblade 2, I grabbed it and played a couple sittings to finish it and then cancelled the sub immediately. I feel that is good value for money since I can check out a few other games in the 30 days.

I wouldn't consider it worthwhile if I didn't have an Xbox Series S though. If my main gaming device was a PC then I'd stick to being patient and waiting for sales. Series S + Nintendo Switch has been a solid combo for my budget gaming needs this gen.

I need to figure out what games I still have on my Xbox from Game Pass, buy the ones I really like or wishlist them for a sale, and cancel it. I haven’t even played online with my friends in a couple years, so I don’t really even need the Core plan for now.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

In its place, Microsoft will "in the coming months" roll out a new $14.99 "Xbox Game Pass Standard" tier.

Quick and dirty chart by me to display the new Xbox Game Pass structure (subject to correction).

But it's the launch day access to Microsoft's system-selling first-party titles that really sets the Ultimate tier apart now, and which will likely necessitate a costly upgrade for many Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Since then, loyal Game Pass subscribers have been able to play dozens of brand-new first-party titles at launch, from major franchises like Halo, Forza, and Gears of War to indie darlings like Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps and much more.

Including first-party titles with cheaper, console-focused Game Pass subscriptions probably seemed like a good idea when Microsoft was still trying to attract subscribers to the service.

“Let’s put it this way: If 7 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers were planning to buy ‘Call of Duty’ for $70 but now have no reason to (as it’s part of their subscription), that leaves almost half a billion dollars of revenue on the table,” MIDia analyst Rhys Elliott told The Daily Upside by way of illustrating the significant numbers involved.

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