GoKawiilMicrosoft said Tuesday that it will lower the cost of subscriptions that include access to hundreds of video games, after the company's new gaming leader promised to "recommit to our core Xbox fans and players."
The flagship Game Pass Ultimate service, which allows gamers to download titles on PCs and Xbox consoles and stream games on mobile devices, has been cut to $22.99 per month from $29.99, Microsoft said in a blog post. The more limited PC Game Pass is now $13.99, down from $16.49.
Forthcoming titles in the popular "Call of Duty" franchise will no longer be part of the two subscriptions immediately when they come out. Instead, gamers can buy the titles when they come out — the latest one goes for $69.99 — or wait until release the next holiday season and play older versions in the meantime.
The change represents an attempt to rejigger the Xbox business from Asha Sharma, a former Meta executive who replaced Phil Spencer as Microsoft's gaming chief in February.