However, there will be a new tier that replaces the current basic console subscription, which may benefit those who don’t want to play brand new games added to the service on launch day.
The price hikes will apply to new subscribers from today, but existing subscribers will have a two-month grace period as they will see the price increase from September 12. The 12-month subscription for Xbox Game Pass Core (formerly Xbox Live Gold) was €/$60 and will now be €/$70. This is a price increase of 16% and 25% respectively. The European price for PC Game Pass will increase from €/$10 to €/$12 per month, a 20% increase.
Xbox Game Pass for the console is being discontinued. It will be replaced with Xbox Game Pass Standard. Console was €/$11 per month, Standard will be €/$15 per month. The old price with auto-pay will remain, but if you turn it off and your subscription expires, you won’t have access to the old price and subscription model. The difference with Xbox Game Pass Standard will be that online multiplayer will be available, but some games will not appear in your game library until later. So new releases will be left out.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was previously €15/$17, it will now be €18/$20 (+20%/+17.6%). The new games are available through PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, so essentially the goal here is to get everyone to go to the more expensive tier if they want new games. It’s true that you can play games from the cloud, as that’s not available everywhere… and be sure to check the regional price increases, as there are some regions with incredible price jumps. Especially in cheaper countries like Turkey or Argentina, where the poor players get screwed over.
Source: Gematsu, Microsoft, Microsoft
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