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Microsoft has hiked prices for 34 million Game Pass subscribers worldwide, forcing them to pay an extra £24 each year. The price increase will impact new users from today, while existing Game Pass subscribers will be given a few weeks’ grace. The increase is expected to go into effect in September.
The price increase for Game Pass subscribers will affect those playing on Windows PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S consoles, as well as those streaming titles to the Meta Quest VR headsets, iPhone, and Android phones, as well Amazon’s hugely popular Fire TV Sticks.
The Xbox price hikes, which will affect subscribers of the Netflix-like service around the world, are as follows…
- Game Pass Ultimate — monthly subscription increases from £12.99 to £14.99
- PC Game Pass — monthly subscription increases from £7.99 to £9.99
- Game Pass Core — annual subscription increases from £49.99 to £55.99
This comes as Microsoft has confirmed one of the best-selling franchises in the world, Dutyis coming to Game Pass in the coming months. The next installment in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6will be added to the catalog of games that subscribers can download or stream once it hits stores worldwide.
With the Xbox app on your Fire TV Stick, you can play AAA console titles like Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Microsoft Flight SimulatorAnd Duty with a Bluetooth compatible controller
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Before being acquired by Microsoft, game developer Activision sold copies of every new game. Duty term of £69.99, which equates to an average of 20 million copies sold per year. Those without a Game Pass subscription – and those on competing platforms such as the PlayStation 5 – will have to pay for a standalone copy of the upcoming game.
From just £1 for the first two weeksXbox Game Pass Ultimate is a Netflix-like subscription service that gives you access to a rotating catalog of console and PC games from Microsoft’s own studios, which now includes Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as other popular developers like EA.
Games can be downloaded to consoles or PCs and played locally without an internet connection. Game progress is synced via the cloud, so you can continue playing on another device, such as a smartphone, iPad, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, or handheld game console like the Logitech G Cloud or Asus ROG Ally. Fire TV Stick owners can pair Bluetooth controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller to play favorites like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II And Star field.
Xbox has even integrated features like voice chat into its cloud offering, so the experience in your web browser and across devices should be optimal. terribly comes close to playing on a traditional game console.
You’ll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to play across devices.
Aside from PC Game Pass, these are the only subscriptions that include access to new games on launch day. A more affordable plan, known as Game Pass Core, includes access to online multiplayer and a selection of 25 titles from the Game Pass Ultimate catalogue, with newer games added over time. It costs just £6.99 per month and is a replacement for the Xbox Live subscription that was previously offered for those who wanted to play online.
Xbox’s price hike to £14.99 means the most expensive Game Pass subscription is now more expensive than Sony’s top-tier PlayStation Plus Premium subscription, which costs £13.49 in the UK. This includes access to around 400 games from across PS4 and PS5, although Sony does not offering new games on launch day, just like Microsoft.
Xbox subscribers who currently have a base Game Pass subscription on their console can keep it until it expires. Microsoft will begin charging the new, higher monthly fee as your next billing date approaches.
Microsoft has previously spoken about its ambition to have 100 million Game Pass subscribers worldwide by 2030. The ambitious target has prompted the US company to acquire dozens of studios at huge expense to produce new titles for its streaming service.
Game Pass currently offers a wide variety of titles, including: Minecraft, Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Pentiment, Microsoft Flight Simulator, And Empty space. Some of these games, including Sea of Thieves And Pentimentswere recently launched as standalone purchases on the PlayStation Store and Nintendo Switch.
Microsoft has not ruled out releasing more Xbox exclusives on other platforms in a bid to attract more players to its online multiplayer worlds and boost revenue for a title that has seen better days on Xbox consoles and PCs.
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With some sales data suggesting the PS5 will outsell the Xbox Series X and Series S by a 2:1 ratio , it’s unsurprising that Microsoft would be looking elsewhere for more players. Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the game as part of their monthly subscription – one advantage of choosing an Xbox or PC over the competition.
Microsoft recently held its summer preview event, where it announced a slew of new games, including a new Doom, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, South of Midnight, And Perfect darkness which will be released on Xbox Game Pass on release day.