Xbox recently announced a price reduction for its premium Game Pass subscription and a change in its release strategy for new Call of Duty titles. This decision came after internal discussions led by Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma, who noted that the service had become too costly for players. Sharma reiterated this sentiment in a post on X, officially communicating the adjustments.
According to a blog post on Xbox Wire, Game Pass Ultimate will now be priced at $22.99 per month, down from $29.99, while PC Game Pass will cost $13.99 instead of $16.49 per month. New Call of Duty games will be included in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass approximately a year after their release, with existing titles remaining accessible in user libraries.
This reduction partially reverses the 50% price increase implemented in October 2025, when the service was priced at $19.99 for console and $11.99 for PC.
The blog post stated, “Our player community is diverse in terms of geography, preferences, and interests. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, these changes address a significant amount of feedback we’ve received. We remain committed to listening and adapting.”
As a result of these changes, players purchasing Call of Duty along with a year of Game Pass Ultimate will save a total of $72 annually, offsetting the $69.99 game cost. Microsoft introduced Call of Duty to Game Pass in 2024, with that year’s release, Black Ops 6, setting subscription records. However, Black Ops 7 in 2025 experienced lower sales compared to its predecessor, prompting Microsoft to discontinue consecutive releases of Black Ops and Modern Warfare.
In the company’s latest financial report, content and services revenues declined by 5% year-on-year, primarily attributed to first-party content performance. Additionally, hardware revenues experienced a 32% year-on-year decrease.
Sharma’s recent message to employees outlined plans to transform Game Pass into a more adaptable system, emphasizing the need for testing and learning throughout the process.
Game Pass, a prominent feature of Xbox’s business under former Xbox leader Phil Spencer, has faced criticism for underperformance. The company ceased reporting subscriber numbers in 2022 and has been subject to scrutiny and skepticism from industry professionals. Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $75.4 billion in 2022, the Call of Duty franchise is particularly under review within the company.
This story is developing and will be updated as new information becomes available.