Microsoft has increased the price of its Game Pass Ultimate gaming subscription and changed the names and content of the different Xbox Game Pass tiers. The changes also affect the PC Game Pass subscription, which is officially available in Ukraine.
Microsoft has increased the price of its Game Pass Ultimate gaming subscription and changed the names and content of the different Xbox Game Pass tiers. The changes also affect the PC Game Pass subscription, which is officially available in Ukraine.
As reported by the company, from now on the price of Game Pass Ultimate will be 50% more — $29.99 per month instead of $19.99. Microsoft explains the price increase by various updates in all its Xbox Game Pass tiers.
Xbox Game Pass Core is being renamed Xbox Game Pass Essential, and the Standard subscription is now called Xbox Game Pass Premium.
«Our goal for Game Pass was clear: to provide players with unprecedented value, benefits, and a large library of games. Since our launch in 2017, we have continuously increased the satisfaction of our subscribers and creators, and today, creator participation and player engagement in Game Pass have reached their highest levels ever. But we have an opportunity to help Game Pass find more players who love creators and games,» Microsoft said .
Microsoft already raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate last year, but this time the company announced that it was expanding the library to over 400 games. The subscription includes 45 new games, including Hogwarts Legacy, Assassin’s Creed games, and many other Ubisoft games.
«We’re also now giving access to over 75 day one releases each year. That’s 50% more than the day one games we gave away last year,» Dustin Blackwell, Microsoft’s director of games and communications, told The Verge.
Ubisoft Plus Classics is now also part of Game Pass Ultimate, which gives you access to select Ubisoft games on consoles, PC, and in the cloud. On November 18, Fortnite Crew will also become part of Ultimate, giving subscribers the Fortnite Battle Pass, 1,000 V-bucks every month, and more.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is also coming out of beta, with support for 1440p resolution and improved bitrates for select games on select devices. These cloud-based improvements are available exclusively to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
The Xbox ecosystem is still not fully present in Ukraine and there is no separate domestic region for its consoles. Therefore, Ukrainian Xbox players are forced to choose other regions — usually those with lower prices for games and subscriptions. In these regions, the price increase will occur in accordance with regional prices.
However, PC Game Pass is officially available in Ukraine — a subscription with games for personal computers. Before the Xbox Game Pass update, its price was 240 UAH per month, but now it has increased to 290 UAH.
As before, annual or quarterly PC Game Pass subscriptions are not available for Ukrainian players, only monthly.
