With Xbox Game Pass prices rising, is it still worth it?

A big story is coming out of the Xbox community as Microsoft has recently increased the Xbox Game Pass prices. The new shifts, effective starting today, July 10, 2024, will see a lot of price changes for Game Pass Ultimate and a few changes for others.

The Redmond tech giant says in an update that the Game Pass Ultimate price will rise from $16.99 to $19.99. That’s about a $3 difference, but honestly, it’s still worth it, especially given how Xbox’s cloud gaming has also arrived on TVs like Samsung and Amazon’s Fire TV, letting you “play Xbox without an Xbox.” And, one of the requirements to do so is a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Microsoft also says that the Game Pass for Console will no longer be offered to new players. For existing subscribers, it’s still priced at $10.99 with day-one games. As for the PC Game Pass price, it’s still at $11.99, including Day One games as well.

A new tier, Xbox Game Pass Standard, offering the Game Pass catalog and online multiplayer but excluding Day One games, will be introduced later this year at $14.99. Current members have until September 12 before the price increase affects their subscriptions.

“We created Game Pass to offer players more choice in how they discover and play games. That includes offering different prices and plans, so players can find what works best for them,” Microsoft says, describing the new Game Pass Standard plan.

Last year, Sony, Microsoft’s number-one competitor in the gaming landscape, also raised its PlayStation Plus subscription prices. All tiers are now up by roughly 30% from their initial prices—a decision that Sony defended as necessary to “adjust to market conditions.”