Microsoft has done it again. They’ve raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and this time it’s a slap straight in the face of gamers. In Europe, the price is now €26.99 per month. Let that sink in—€26.99 every month for a subscription that used to be the best deal in gaming. Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus Premium is €16.99. That’s a full ten euros cheaper. Over a year, that’s €324 for Game Pass. For that money, you could buy four brand-new AAA games at launch, or up to 20 indie titles you actually want to play.
So here’s the big question: is Game Pass even worth it anymore? Because a lot of gamers are saying no. Social media is full of people cancelling their subscriptions. Microsoft thinks gamers will just swallow this price hike, but people are already walking away.
And what’s the excuse Microsoft throws at us? “Oh, we’re adding 74 day-one games this year.” Yeah, right. Where are they? Because what we’ve actually seen is a flood of cheap, forgettable indie filler—five or ten euro “games” most people will open once and never touch again. That’s not what players signed up for.
Adding Ubisoft Classics and Fortnite Crew into Game Pass and then using that as a reason to raise the price? That’s pure nonsense. Nobody asked for this. Most Game Pass players don’t care about ancient Ubisoft titles or Fortnite add-ons. Fortnite players already have Crew subscriptions, which are cheaper and actually make sense for them. Microsoft is trying to pad Game Pass with stuff nobody wanted, and then punish us by making us pay more for it.
This is gamer-hostile. Pure and simple. Microsoft has no idea who its customers are. Remember that old Xbox feedback page where people could post and vote on what they wanted? The top 10 most requested features were completely ignored. Instead, Microsoft pulled some pointless “bring back avatars” idea that barely anyone wanted, and when nobody used it, they scrapped it again. That’s their idea of “listening.” It’s insulting.
And now we’re here. Microsoft has managed to piss off not only players but also developers. Studios don’t trust them. Gamers are cancelling subscriptions. The trust is gone. And once again, Microsoft proves what they’ve always proven: they don’t actually care about us, the gamers—they care about short-term profits and pleasing investors. And when it all comes crashing down, like it has before, they’ll abandon gaming again.
So, I’ll ask this one more time: When will Microsoft actually listen to the people who play their games? Because right now, the answer is never. And this arrogance—this constant ignoring of their own community—is going to cost them big.
Price Hikes Will Push Gamers Back to Piracy
Let’s be real here. Microsoft thinks raising Game Pass prices is going to push us back into buying games the old-fashioned way. But guess what? That plan is going to blow up in their face. If you make it too expensive, we’re not suddenly going to start throwing extra cash at Microsoft. We’ll buy maybe one Microsoft game a year, if even that—and spend the rest of our money on other publishers, other platforms, or just wait for sales.
And here’s the kicker: with these price hikes, we’re back to the place we were years ago—where buying, playing, and then reselling or trading physical games is actually cheaper and smarter than subscribing to Game Pass. Microsoft is undoing their own biggest selling point. Brilliant business move, right?
But it gets worse for them. Because if this trend continues, more and more players will turn to something that gaming companies love to pretend doesn’t exist anymore: piracy. Yeah, the same piracy they thought was dead during the so-called “golden age” of streaming and subscriptions. Well, it’s coming back—and companies like Microsoft are the reason why.
Look at the data. Piracy monitoring firm MUSO has reported a clear rise in traffic to piracy sites after years of decline. And why? The exact same reasons we’re dealing with now: endless fragmentation of services and constant price hikes. When you split content across ten different overpriced subscriptions, people don’t pay more—they just go back to the cheaper, easier option. Legal or not.
Recent surveys show that 90% of PC gamers admit they’ve pirated at least one game. And with AAA prices going through the roof, piracy demand is only going up. Big single-player games get cracked within days, sometimes hours, of release. And gamers—especially those fed up with price gouging—are downloading. It’s not about supporting piracy; it’s about understanding why it happens. And the truth is, companies like Microsoft are pushing people right back into it.
So if Microsoft’s plan is to force players out of Game Pass and back into buying games full price, here’s a big surprise: it’s not going to work. People will buy fewer games, trade them around, or—yes—pirate them. In every single scenario, Microsoft loses.
And let’s not forget the hardware angle. If next-gen consoles really do end up costing 800–1000 euros/dollars, then why wouldn’t people just buy a proper PC? A machine that doesn’t just play games, but works for creation, work, streaming—you name it. At that point, Xbox has no future.
This is the reality: Microsoft’s constant price hikes don’t build loyalty, they destroy it. They don’t “convert” players into paying more, they push them away—back to PC, back to sales, and yes, back to piracy. And when that happens, Microsoft will only have themselves to blame.
Online Comments
“I already canceled my subscription. That’s too much money.”
“How about interviewing or focus groups before raising prices for what we want…Microsoft yet again just forcing their way”
“Microsoft is hiking prices by forcing benefits nobody asked for. Ubisoft Classics, EA Play, and Fortnite Crew are not things people wanted. The vast majority of subscribers are now stuck paying more for things they will never use on top of never playing 90% of the slop GamePass offers already. They’ve gutted their Rewards program more and more over the last few years and they once again gutted their conversion rates.”
“I don’t want Ubisoft Classics, EA Play or Fortnite Crew and neither do most others. We should be able to remove these benefits to pay a lower price while still maintaining Day 1 releases and expanded catalogue.”
“Cancelling game pass”
“Price increase is one thing, but I fail to see added value. Ubisoft is a trashcan library. And no one on my friend list of over 50 active daily players, none of them play Fortnite. So don’t add some crap no one asked for to justify your increase.”
“Cancelling game pass. And I’ll probably sell my Series X.”
“I’m done with Game Pass, but I won’t be selling my Series X, as I have a pretty decent movie library and a really big backlog to play. That being said, I’m definitely done with Xbox moving forward. I used to defend them like crazy, but after laying off all those workers, shutting down studios, cancelling games, raising prices of their consoles twice, releasing super expensive handhelds, and now raising Game Pass Ultimate by 50%, after an extremely profitable year, it tells me they don’t care about gamers anymore”
“I cancelled my gamepass. I’ll just buy the game I want to play. The folks that can afford such a hefty subscription don’t have the time to play all new game launches.”
“Yeah I’m out too 360 a year is far too much for A Gamefly like service especially since you only Rent the game you don’t own anything… they can keep Gamepiss selling my Series X”
“I just cancelled my subscription after 11 years.”
“Yeah I’ve had gamepasss from the beginning. Most of the games I already own. And for the day 1 releases well, they want you to pay extra for the day 1 release, we actually get em on day 3. And most of them are garbage. Only a handful are worth it.”
“Canceled game pass ultimate for my xbox series x after 21 years of playing Xbox.”
“I think even with a response Microsoft has found themselves in a pretty bad nightmare scenario. Game pass was a great bargain at the $18.99 price point where you could try out a good number of games, and just buy the ones you like or keep access to more casual games. They bought up a lot of publishers, sure, but what good are 75 new games when only 5 are good and you only have time for 3 at most”
“It’s absolutely rediculous. All time profits, let’s hack prices 50% again.”
“I used to pay 60 bucks a year for Xbox live to be able to play with friends, and never batted at eye at 5 bucks a month, or the cost of 1 game per year to have that service. I don’t even buy games at full price anymore, and usually wait for a sale at like 30 bucks or less to buy anything, because everything keeps getting more expensive, and games keep getting worse. So now you want me to pay the price of a game EVERY MONTH? Just to play with friends and occasionally try a game that looks like it could be neat, only to be disappointed 5 hours in? Nah. I’m about to ditch Xbox and go full PC.”
“A price point of $30 a month is absolutely ridiculous Yes they say 75 games a year but guess what most of these games are junk-“
“They aren’t listening to anyone’s feedback. They are defending their price increase over fortnite crew and ubisoft + I play fortnite but I could care less about getting the dumb passes for free. And ubisoft just drops ancient old games that everyone has played a million times over. how the hell is that something to defend? Bring more actual good games. Pay the developers that make the games more. That would be something to defend about. Corporate greed is all I see. Pitiful.”
“Yeah I cancelled mine last night. Ain’t no way I’m taking a 40% increase. Especially if they are gonna use Fortnite extra content as a driver.”
“Dropping down to Premium Game Pass. I like the Assassin’s Creed titles from Ubisoft, but already own half of them and I’m not interested in Fortnite crap. Love my Xbox X, but like others here are saying 360 dollars a year is stupid.”
“I too am canceling my game pass subscription. I’ve been a loyal Xbox person since they first came out now they have lost me for life. I think if everybody canceled. We would get our point across and as far as I’m concerned Microsoft can suck it”
“I wont resubscribing to Gamepass! I’m going to buy myself a gaming laptop and use steam! Fck Xbox and their greed”
“100% game pass is canceled. Xbox is getting sold”
“I would love to stay, but for that price, it really won’t be easy.”
“I have had every xbox….I have had live and game pass all along. My wife and I are 55+ and game on weekends. We enjoy the different options game pass provides. But this increase for nothing different is too much and unjustified.”
“I have gamepass ultimate because I stocked up on Xbox live ultimate hack they had a few years back. I have it until June of 2026. That will definitely be the end of game pass for me. Nearly the cost of half a game and you don’t get to keep it is crazy expensive.”
“Nope I am absolutely not supporting the price hike. I’ll save my money and actually buy the games I want.”
“I’ve had Games Pass from the start and just cancelled it”
“Nope… When my PC Pass expires I will just buy the few games I play. “
“Canceling mine aswell.”
“I have already cancelled my ultimate. I have been with Xbox since the days of the Xbox360 but this finally broke me as a customer.”
“Cancelled today. Been paying for some kind of service from Xbox since they launched the Xbox live. They have absolutely destroyed any perceived value you’d have. Most games have been trash fo years and the ones I’d want to play are either free or not available on game pass anyway. I can buy last year’s Madden for less than $30. The series X will likely be my last Xbox.”
“They knew what the reaction would be but went ahead anyway. Meaning they didnt give a toss about their customer base, thought their customers would be dumb enough to pay it. That worked out well”
“Xbox live. Xbox live gold. Game Pass. I’ve stuck with 16-18 yrs. I’m done. I’ve already drifted back towards PC gaming just going to switch faster.”
“Your games are not worth almost 400 a year to rent. You (xbox) have just cut your own throats. Ubisoft isn’t worth it and not even half as good as you think. “
“Got the ultimate for my grandkids but dropping down to premium for a while.Oldest one has a PC now so may drop the pass altogether and go with steam.It’s a shame cause especially kids have to be punished for corporate greed.”
“I don’t see the justification for the price increase. These greedy corps claim each quater that they break record profit. This is just pure greed”
“My household cancelled all 3 of our gamepass ultimate subscriptions today. We didn’t knock down a tier, we aren’t taking a break… no we have cancelled, for good. There isn’t any more value they could add to this to even make it this price! We will all move to PC and just the occasional actual game purchases for stuff we play together or that they play with their friends. This was the last straw. I have had game pass since it first came out, xbox has been my favorite console… Sadly I will never buy another and might sell ours… the bright side is that now when we purchase games instead of renting them in a gameplay the developers will get more money.”
“Canceled last night, I am not going to play every game on game pass.”
“Will be cancelling, many households like mine, have children that play. Multiple xbox game pass accounts per month is not viable with that price.”
“Cancelled my gamepass today. It’s just not worth it… Absolutely ridiculous that the lowest tier to get online play is over 10$ a month. And they want you to pay 30$ for a few games? I mean just look at the library… They’re all either old games from the 2010’s or new indie junk reheating the same 4 concepts over and over.”
“Nope, I’ve had an Xbox since the first one was released and have had Xbox live, and then what became game pass since it has been around. Unfortunately, there is only one direction on which Microsoft takes Gamepass… that is, the monthly cost will only continue to rise. I’ve defended Microsoft/GPU for the long time, but the, half finished games filled with bugs, micro transactions being shoved down your throat in every game (despite the game only half working), mass layoffs and now this are the last straw. They’ve made it clear where their priorities lie, making money over all else.”
“The thing that is so frustrating about it? They justify their continued price hikes by offering niche additions to the subscription that only a certain subset of people who subscribe will use. Perfect example? The addition of the fortnight crew/Ubisoft classics as part of GPU. People like myself subscribe to GPU primarily for the day one releases. I couldn’t give two shits about fortnight crew or Ubisoft Classic, yet if I want day one releases, I’m forced into the GPU tier because none of the other Gamepass tiers offer it. Coincidence? Absolutely not. It’s 100% by design and Microsoft adds the other features knowing that they likely won’t be utilized by a significant number of subscribers. Like many, I will NOT be renewing my GPU subscription and may cancel Gamepass all together. $360 per year is ridiculous and the regular price increases is just not sustainable nor is it worth it.”
“November 2002 I joined xbox live. My game pass expires Nov 2025. That’s it. 23 years and I am done. The entire gaming industry has gone in the toilet. Microtransactions, subscriptions, yearly releases of the same game (EA Sports. COD). Toxic communities, unchecked cheating, corporate greed. That’s enough.”
“Yeah cancelled, what they’re offering isn’t worth it for a 50% price increase, especially when everything else is rising, got plenty in my back collection to play and I’ll be happy I’m saving all that money each year, maybe buy some physical games I can own instead. This was the last straw from a greedy company that was already making good profits”
“I canceled my gamepass. It runs out at the end of the month. I was already thinking about cancelling since I rarely play, but was holding on to it in the hopes I get time to play again. This made it easier.”
“There’s just no emd to this disgusting greed. They already make a insnae amount of moneyy, yet it’s never enough. Fuck them all! Piracy is back to the meny, bwoyz!!!”
“The ability to stream games to my phone so I can play when I’m laying in bed or when my wife wants to watch something on the TV has been clutch. But at this price point I’m going to cancel my sub and just pick up a Steam Deck. Games go on great sales on Steam all the time, and at least I’ll own them. If they’d hiked the price 10% or hell even 25% I’d probably have stuck around. But 50% in one go is just fucking disrespectful to their customers.”
“I will be cancelling today!”
“I already cancelled mine last month because I’d had enough of it. Poor games that are of no interest at all. There’s no way I’ll be rejoining and certainly not for that price. My son’s also sacking it off with his GP and he plays a lot. He simply said I’m not paying that it’s just greed. Xbox you have lost another 2 subs and I’ve been with you probably 10 years or so. Looking into buying gaming pc. The price of that Xbox ally is a joke as well…”
“I cancelled my game pass,not worth it anymore”
“Does Xbox believe that everyone plays Fortnite? Because many of us don’t. So this “added value” is worthless to me and others like me. They’re asking us to pay for something we will never use. Additionally so many day one game pass games are horrible, I can think of only a couple that were good to excellent, and none of them made by an Xbox studio.”
“I cancelled. I’ve got enough games in my library to keep me going for a while.”
“Mine is cancelled. We as consumers have to fight back. The only way these corpos understand, is money.
GAME OVER for Microsoft?
