Xbox Game Pass Price Increase and Start Date Announced

By Marc Deschamps

After months of rumors, the price of Xbox Game Pass is officially seeing an increase. The price of a base subscription to the service will increase from $9.99 per month to $10.99, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will go up from $14.99 to $16.99. The price change will take effect on July 6th. According to reporting from The Verge, these increases won't immediately take effect for existing customers; the price will not increase until August 13th for those that currently subscribe. While PlayStation previously claimed the Activision Blizzard purchase could lead to a price increase for Xbox products, Xbox head of communications Kari Perez stressed that these changes have nothing to do with the proposed acquisition.

"These Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and are intended to match local market conditions," Perez told The Verge. 

Those that exclusively subscribe to Xbox Game Pass for PC will be happy to know that the current price for that service will not be increasing. At this time, it's unclear why, but those that prefer to use the service on PC versus console or through cloud gaming should be happy to hear that!

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In addition to the increase for Game Pass, the cost of an Xbox Series X will also be increasing, but not in the U.S. Like Sony's price hike on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X will be increasing in price mostly in other countries, with the change set to go in effect on August 1st. Interestingly enough, the price of the Xbox Series S hardware will remain the same. Given the fact that Microsoft just announced a new model of the Xbox Series S system earlier this month, it makes sense that a price increase won't be made for the console. The Xbox Series S was already the cheapest option for those looking to get into the Xbox ecosystem, and it seems that the value of the smaller console will actually be getting a bit better!

Are you disappointed about this price increase? Will this make you drop your subscription? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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