Microsoft is dropping the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription plans — and it’s also going to hold back new “Call of Duty” titles from the services for about a year.
Beginning this year, future releases of mega-popular first-person shooter “Call of Duty” releases, from Microsoft’s Activision division, won’t be available in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. According to Microsoft, new “CoD” games will be added to the subscription tiers during the following holiday season — about a year later. The company said existing “Call of Duty” titles in the library will continue to be available.
Starting Tuesday (April 21), the price of Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 per month. PC Game Pass will drop from $16.49 to $13.99 per month.
“Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma said in a post on X. “We’ll keep learning and evolving Game Pass to better match what matters to players.”
Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will continue to have access to “hundreds of games” on Xbox consoles and PCs including current “Call of Duty” titles, as well as in-game benefits, online console multiplayer and major day one releases.
“Our players cover a wide breadth of geographies, preferences, and tastes, so while there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone, this change responds to a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far,” the company said in announcing the change.
Separately, Paramount Pictures is developing a big-screen adaptation of “Call of Duty,” which is slated to premiere June 30, 2028. Pete Berg will direct from a script by Taylor Sheridan.
