Unfortunately, Xbox Game Pass has become a little more expensive since yesterday, after Microsoft announced the price increase at the end of June…

Gamers worldwide may be disappointed to learn that Xbox Game Pass got more expensive yesterday. The popular service offers incredible value and a vast library of games on Xbox and PC.

The price of Xbox Game Pass hasn’t gone up in a while, even after Microsoft acquired Bethesda and started adding games from the publisher’s popular franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout.

Microsoft denied rumours of a Game Pass price hike earlier this year. The speculation started to intensify due to Activision’s ongoing acquisition of Blizzard. The situation seems to have changed just a few months later.

Xbox Game Pass pricing will increase from yesterday, 6 July. Current subscribers will only be affected from 13 August 2023. PC subscribers can breathe a sigh of relief that they won’t be affected by the price increase. Console subscribers who subscribe to an annual code will also not be affected (until their subscription comes due for renewal.) For some reason, there are several countries where there will be no price increase for Game Pass. These are Chile, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. This comes along with an increase in the price of the Xbox Series X in several territories. Microsoft has not increased the cost of the Xbox Series S.

Xbox Communications Manager Kari Perez clarified that this price increase has nothing to do with the Activision Blizzard deal. The company has adjusted prices to “reflect the competitive conditions in each market”, which may explain why some countries are unaffected. Xbox chief Phil Spencer has previously hinted that Game Pass prices could rise. Given that the company has held out for a long time, and didn’t think it would last forever.

Perhaps he was trying to soften the inevitable blow of what would be the first Xbox Game Pass price hike since the service launched in 2017.

Game Pass still offers incredible value, with great new games always coming to the service. The July 2023 batch, for example, includes Grand Theft Auto 5, Exoprimal and puzzle-platformer The Cave. Of course, deciding what you can afford is up to you. But objectively, Xbox Game Pass is still worth the price.

Source: The Verge