When Xbox raised the price of the Game Pass Ultimate tier by 50% last October, it infuriated gamers who rushed to cancel their subscriptions. Since then a lot of changes have unfolded at Microsoft, including the ascension of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
Today (Apr. 21), Sharma took to X to announce a rare price decrease for the service.
"Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players," Sharma wrote. "Starting today, we’re dropping the price from $29.99 to $22.99/month."
It's not quite back to pre-October levels, when Game Pass Ultimate was only $19.99 a month but it's a step in the right direction.
Sharma added that the service will also no longer get future Call of Duty titles on Day One via Game Pass Ultimate. I've long speculated that Call of Duty was driving up the cost of Ultimate since it is one of Activision's cash cows, so this makes sense.
When the next Call of Duty releases, it won't join Game Pass until the "following holiday after launch" or about a year. Previously released Call of Duty games will remain available on the service.
What's next for Xbox?
From the outside Xbox has been floundering in recent years between price hikes across software and consoles a lack of exclusive Xbox titles that gamers find exciting.
Longtime CEO Phil Spencer retired in February which also led to the surprise resignation of Xbox President Sarah Bond, who was seen the heir apparent.
They were replaced by Sharma who came from an AI arm of Microsoft. Though she promised she wasn't coming into shove AI into Xbox.
From the outset, Sharma promised that she would listen to gamers and Xbox fans to figure out how to right the ship saying that she was "coming into gaming as a platform builder."
So far, Xbox has stayed quiet outside of teasing Project Helix, the rumored console/PC hybrid that is expected to launch in the next couple of years. It was rumored that Sharma spent much of the recent GDC conference selling Xbox to developers, publishers and investors.
Until a new console launches, a price decrease is a nice way for Xbox to garner some goodwill from fans even if it could have been more drastic.
We'll truly know where Xbox and Sharma stand when the Helix launches. That will tell us how Microsoft views its gaming division and the path forward.
More from Tom's Guide
- Microsoft reportedly redesigning Start Menu in Windows 11 after actually listening to user complaints
- Microsoft starts removing Copilot from Windows 11 — I’m saying that sarcastically because it's clearly just lip service
- Windows is using your internet to update other people’s PCs — disable this hidden setting to speed up your connection
