Xbox Game Pass new tiers: Core, Standard and Ultimate differences and prices explained
Will you pass on the new prices?
No doubt looking to recoup the cost of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King, Xbox Game Pass has a new tier, and we’ve got the Core, Standard and Ultimate differences and prices explained to make heads and tails of the situation.
It cost a lot of money to buy the company that owns huge titles such as Activision’s Call of Duty, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and King’s Candy Crush, so a price hike was perhaps inevitable.
We are starting to see these titles making it to the subscription service, however, as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming Xbox Game Pass, as revealed during its announcement at the Xbox Showcase in June.
We’re also getting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass, too, no doubt a soft launch of sorts to see how many players it attracts.
Diablo 4 already made its way to Xbox Game Pass earlier in 2024, but there are still plenty of titles that could be added yet.
With that said, let’s see what the damage is, shall we?
Xbox Game Pass new tiers at a glance
There are three Xbox Game Pass tiers now. Some are only available on console or PC, and there is one that can be used on both.
They are described as follows by Microsoft on the official Xbox Game Pass page:
- Xbox Game Pass Core
- Online console multiplayer
- Catalogue of over 25 games on console
- Member deals & discounts
- PC Game Pass
- Hundreds of games on PC
- New games on day one
- Member deals & discounts
- EA Play membership
- Xbox Game Pass Standard
- Online console multiplayer
- Hundreds of games on console
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
- Hundreds of games on console, PC and cloud
- New games on day one
- Member deals, discounts and Perks
- Online console multiplayer
- EA Play membership
Now, read on for the unfortunate matter of the price increases.
Prices and differences explained for new Xbox Game Pass tiers
New subscribers will pay the new costs immediately, whereas recurring subscribers won’t pay the price until 1st September.
Below are each of the tiers, how much they cost and how much the price went up by:
Xbox Game Pass Core
Xbox Game Pass Core (formerly known as Xbox Live Gold) still costs £6.99 a month, but its annual subscription price has increased from £49.99 to £55.99.
This tier doesn’t receive any day-one releases, so it’s pretty barebones.
PC Game Pass
Game Pass PC’s monthly price is increasing from £7.99 to £9.99.
Xbox Game Pass Standard
No pricing has been announced for Xbox Game Pass Standard in the UK, but it is going to cost $14.99 in the United States. Xbox Game Pass Standard also doesn’t receive day-one releases. We can expect this to maybe cost £12.99.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Already expensive, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s monthly price is increasing from £12.99 to £14.99.
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Authors
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to RadioTimes.com's Gaming section. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
