Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase starts July 6 – how to avoid it
PSA: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will cost as much as $24 extra per month starting July 6, 2023, but our deals experts show you how to save money today
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Is Game Pass Ultimate going up?
📈 Yes. It’ll cost an extra $24 per year for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on July 6
🟩 Game Pass is often sold in quarterly SKUs: $45 MSRP ($180 annually)
💰 However, there’s a deal to pay about $25 for 3 months ($100 annually)
💸 This discount price may also increase after the July 6, 2023 price hike
If you haven’t read the Xbox Game Pass news that we reported on this week, it’s critical you take advantage of this current and valid Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12-month discount. Why? Because on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Microsoft will charge as much as $24 per year extra for its on-demand and online multiplayer games service. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that you can actually save money beforehand, getting as much as $80 off Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12-month price before it increases (it’s a $20 savings every quarter per voucher you purchase.
This is accomplished by buying multiple Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-month online codes at once for about $25 or $26 (compare that price to the MSRP from Microsoft is $45) and redeeming the codes all at once in your Xbox account.
Can you stack Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase is another blow to your wallet if you subscribe to or plan on purchasing the membership. It’s almost essential if you own an Xbox Series X. But, unlike the PlayStation Plus discount code we also report on frequently, Xbox Game Pass allows you to “stack” multiple codes.
“Stacking” means you can buy up to three years’ worth of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and redeem all of the online codes at once. This will prevent the Microsoft price increase from affecting your Xbox account until July 2026.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price increase date?
On July 6, 2023, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will go up in price for new memberships, according to Microsoft. It has officially stated that it will charge $16.99 per month, up from the $14.99 that has been the monthly price for several years. It didn’t state what the 3-month price will be, but because that’s been $45 per quarter, we have to assume it’ll make the quarterly SKU $51 or $50 per month.
On August 13, 2023, existing Xbox Game Pass members will see their renewal price increase, according to The Verge (editor’s note: the above July 6 date is for all new subscribers). If you’re an existing Xbox Game Pass users, you’ll have a small window in which you can still escape the price hike by stringing together three years of the subscription for a lower rate.
That said, after July 6, it may be too late to get Game Pass at its cheapest price, as the individual discount codes we report on may very well increase in price. If it’s true that Microsoft has set the August 13 price increase for renewals, that likely means for the full price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at its own pricing levels.
Is Xbox Game Pass worth it?
Xbox Game Pass has several key benefits: hundreds of on-demand games (Microsoft wants to build the Netflix of video games through its streaming service), online multiplayer (via Xbox Live), and free games every month (like the PS Plus free games benefit) called Games with Gold (they’re never as good as PlayStation’s free games).
The standout perk is that new games like Starfield will be playable on day one of its release, as first-party software, including Bethesda games, can be downloaded and played right away by Game Pass subscribers. This was true of Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. So there’s a built-in savings if you’re a member.
Is the PC Game Pass price also affected?
So far, Microsoft’s PC Game Pass costs $9.99 per month, and there hasn’t been a price increase announcement for the computer-games-based Xbox subscription counterpart. It’s a little cheaper (though Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes PC Game Pass for $5 more – soon to be $7 more per month), and Microsoft is probably just glad that you’re subscribing to the Windows 10 and Windows 11 games service.