1 min readMicrosoft has announced a new round of global price increases and plan changes to the Game Pass subscription system for July 2024. The Game Pass Ultimate plan will now cost $22.95 per month in Australia, up from the $18.95 price tag that was introduced in 2023. In addition, the PC Game Pass tier will cost $13.95 per month, up from $10.95 per month.
All up, the price for Game Pass Ultimate has gone up by over 40% in just over a year.
Most significant, however, is the changes being made at the cheaper tiers. Xbox Game Pass for Console will no longer be available for new members, effective immediately. In its place, there will be a new console-level tier rolled out over the coming months called Xbox Game Pass Standard. It's priced at US$14.99 per month with local pricing and availability to be announced. But there's one key difference between Xbox Game Pass for Console and Xbox Game Pass Standard: Game Pass for Console includes complete access to Day One releases of first-party titles like the recently released Senua's Saga: Hellblade II or the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Existing Xbox Game Pass for Console subscribers with automatic payments set up will still be able to enjoy their inclusions for the foreseeable future, but all new console subscribers will need to pay top dollar for Game Pass Ultimate if they want to access the upper echelon of the Game Pass catalogue.
It sends a bit of a weird message, giving PC players the best Game Pass has to offer and charging them a lot less for it.
