Game Pass Ultimate Price Drops, But Says Goodbye to Call of Duty

Xbox Game Pass is undergoing a monumental change: for the first time, a Microsoft first-party title will not launch day one on the subscription service. But let's take things in order: with the monstrous acquisition of Activision/Blizzard, Microsoft's gaming division secured an extraordinary assortment of titles to add to the Game Pass library, but also two big headaches.

The first is that, obviously, the seventy billion dollars invested by Microsoft will have to be recouped, so today Xbox needs to monetize its products more than ever. The second is that Xbox found itself with an IP like Call of Duty, capable of generating significant profits, but which risks being excessively sacrificed if its titles arrive on Game Pass day one.

The new price of Game Pass Ultimate

Last autumn, a 50% increase in the price of Game Pass Ultimate was decided, a move that left players unhappy and was deemed unsatisfactory even by Xbox executives. In order to make the service more appealing to players, today there has been a sensational U-turn: the price of Game Pass Ultimate is reduced to €20.99, compared to the previous €26.99. The price of Game Pass PC also drops, from €14.99 per month to €12.99.

Game Pass gives up Call of Duty

This change will certainly be welcomed by subscribers, but something had to be sacrificed, and it is precisely the franchise mentioned above. Starting this year, new Call of Duty titles will no longer be released day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC, but approximately one year later, during the holiday season. Call of Duty games already on the service will not be affected.