Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has confirmed that a price increase for Game Pass Ultimate in October 2025 has caused the service to lose millions of subscribers.
He shared this information in an interview with The Game Business, showing a level of transparency that is rare for a major platform holder.
In October 2025, the cost of Game Pass Ultimate doubled from $14.99 to $29.99 per month. The increase was partially justified by the inclusion of access to Call of Duty on release day. However, this approach proved untenable.
What happened after Xbox doubled the final price of Game Pass?
Xbox’s new CEO Asha Sharma has slashed the price of Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 per month as one of her first significant steps after taking over.
This price cut came with a trade-off: new Call of Duty releases will no longer be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch day and will instead arrive nearly a year after the game’s release.
While the $22.99 monthly rate is still higher than the price before October 2025, it now includes additional content like Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics, which were not part of the original Game Pass Ultimate offering.
The loss of customers confirms what analysts had predicted following a price increase in October 2025. At the time, the jump in costs was immediately criticized by subscribers, with many publicly canceling their subscriptions.
Analysts who spoke to Windows Central after the price cut later said it would help increase subscriber numbers, though they added that it takes time to rebuild the user base lost due to price increases.
Sharma also acknowledged that Game Pass “has become too expensive” and described the price cut as part of a broader effort to maintain and expand the service.
Ball’s confirmation of the impact, which he said affected “millions” but gave no exact figure, is the clearest indication yet of how much the price increase has hurt the service.
Game Pass Ultimate is currently available for $22.99 per month. Moving forward, Call of Duty titles will arrive on the service a year after release. The subscription also includes Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics.
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