Many Xbox fans were frustrated at the news that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is going up in price. Specifically, the highest tier of the Game Pass membership now costs $30, a full $10 more than it did previously. While that did include some new perks, it also comes shortly after the news of a second price increase on Xbox consoles in the last few months. Altogether, that led many Xbox fans to rush to cancel their Ultimate memberships yesterday. But though the price has officially been increased on Microsoft’s website as of October 1st, there may be a loophole to snag another month or so at the previous price.
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Many Xbox Game Pass subscribers likely set up their online account via Microsoft. After all, this option is built right into the platform on consoles and PC. However, there has long been another way to get or gift a Game Pass membership. Many gaming retailers, including GameStop, Amazon, and Best Buy, offer gift cards to unlock 1 or 3 months of Game Pass. And as of 2 PM EDT on October 2nd, those retailers haven’t yet bumped up the price, even though Microsoft already has.
Many Major Retailers Still Offering Game Pass Ultimate at Former Price (For Now)
If you head to Microsoft’s official Xbox Game Pass signup site, you’ll see Game Pass Ultimate offered at the new $29.99/month price. However, pulling up the Game Pass Ultimate 1 Month Membership at various gaming retailers tells a different story. One that could help gamers save on another month of Ultimate at the original price.
GameStop is still listing its Xbox Game Pass 1 Month Ultimate Membership gift card for $19.99 ($18.99 if you’ve got Pro). And they’re not the only ones. Amazon similarly has not yet updated its price, listing the digital code for a month of Ultimate at $19.99. The same is true of Best Buy and Target, as well. All three sites offer a digital code redemption for the Ultimate membership, and all are still pricing it at $19.99. Those that offer 3 Month options still have those set at $59.99, as well.
That means that, while going through Microsoft will cost you $30, you could get up to 3 more months of Ultimate at the former price by going through these stores. That’s good news for gamers, but you have to wonder… how long is this going to last? And well, it’s complicated.
GameStop Vows to Maintain $19.99 Price Point on Game Pass Ultimate
Given that the price change is just around a day old, you might assume it’s simply an oversight. However, that’s not the case, at least not for everyone. Via its social media accounts, GameStop has publicly announced that the retailer plans to keep selling the Game Pass Ultimate membership for $19.99. So GameStop, at least, is maintaining the former price on purpose, at least for now.
So far, GameStop is the only retailer that has officially confirmed plans to maintain the $19.99 price. However, other gaming stores that offer Game Pass gift cards haven’t yet increased their prices, either. This suggests they’ll be holding a steady rate for the foreseeable future, as well. Depending on the agreement between these stores and Microsoft, it’s possible that retailers have already secured a certain number of membership codes at the old price. In that case, it’s likely that the $19.99 price point will last only as long as the stock of codes obtained under that older pricing.
For now, though, it seems like grabbing a third-party code for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate through your favorite gaming retailer could save you $10. It’s also possible that Xbox could start charging players the extra $10 when they redeem these codes, though it doesn’t seem like that’s happening quite yet.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
