Microsoft just dropped a bombshell on gamers: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is jumping from $19.99 to $29.99 a month starting October 1, 2025. That’s a massive 50% hike, and while Microsoft is tossing in extras like Ubisoft+ Classics, Fortnite Crew, cloud gaming upgrades, and over 75 day-one releases per year, a lot of players aren’t buying the “added value” pitch.
To make things more confusing, the service is being rebranded—Core is now Essential, Standard is now Premium, and Ultimate stays Ultimate. The libraries are expanding too, with anywhere from 50 games on Essential to 400 on Ultimate, but most of the perks are locked behind the highest tier.
The reaction? Pure backlash. Social feeds are filled with players cancelling, downgrading, or calling for a boycott. Xbox’s own support site even struggled with the flood of cancellations after the news broke. For many, $30 a month is simply too much—especially since Microsoft has already raised console and hardware prices earlier this year.
Sure, Microsoft insists it’s “adding more value,” but from where gamers are standing, this feels less like a perk and more like being strong-armed into paying extra for features most won’t even use. At the end of the day, players just want fair pricing—not Fortnite bundles stuffed into an inflated subscription.
