14 DAY TRIAL // After a flurry of great announcements regarding its gaming business, Microsoft announced earlier today that the price of its Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription-based service will increase starting next week.
According to a tweet that went live today, Xbox Game Pass for PC cost will double worldwide on September 17. For example, US gamers will have to pay $10 for a monthly Xbox Game Pass subscription, while UK players will have to come up with £8 each month.
Although Microsoft announced that the new prices will be available starting September 17, existing customers will be allowed to pay the same rate through the next billing cycle. This means that if you're already an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you won't see the price hike until October.
Keep in mind that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is not impacted by the new price change, which makes it even more appealing after the announcement. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs just $15 / £11 per month, so if you plan to buy Microsoft's new Xbox Series X / S console, this is the service that you definitely want to subscribe to.
Besides doubling the price of the service, Microsoft revealed that Xbox Game Pass will be out of beta on September 17 and will go into general availability. We're expecting the Windows apps to drop the beta tag next week, although we'd prefer a faster, more reliable app regardless of the “beta” branding.
Microsoft recently announced that it will add EA Play to Xbox Game Pass at no additional cost. However, the price hike revealed today is probably meant to offset the addition of EA Play, which typically costs $5 per month.
Either way, Xbox Game Pass remains one of the best deals for gamers who can't afford to buy games at launch. Microsoft adds a lot of third-party games Xbox Game Pass lineup each month, as well as all the titles released by its studios on the day they are released. Unfortunately, most third-party titles are removed from the service after a while, never to come back.