in the past, gamers would think of halo and ninja gaiden when mentioning microsoft and xbox, but now game pass is the first thing that comes to mind. although everyone loves game pass, this subscription service hasn't been generating enough revenue. microsoft is determined to address this issue.
last night, microsoft announced a major rebranding of this popular service. this rebranding mainly affects game pass ultimate, which will increase in price from $20 to $30 starting october 1. however, there's good news too. in addition to the ubisoft+ classics collection, the november update will also include a fortnite crew subscription.
xbox game pass core has been renamed xbox game pass essential. the standard version of game pass has been renamed xbox game pass premium. the prices of both plans remain the same, but the premium version includes a wider range of games.
the price of pc game pass has increased from $12 to $16.49. this plan still includes ubisoft games, but not ubisoft+ classics. summary:
game pass ultimate - $30 per month (up 20%, 50% increase).
game pass premium - $15 per month (no change).
game pass essential - $10 per month (no change).
game pass for pc - $16.49 per month (up 40%, $12 to $16.49).
today, many new games have been added to all game pass plans. the titles include harry potter: legacy, assassin's creed ii, the crew 2 (ultimate), age of empires iii: definitive edition, deep rock galactic: survivors, diablo (available in premium and ultimate), as well as cities: skylines remastered, hades, and warhammer 40,000: age of darkness (available in essential, premium, and ultimate).
microsoft also announced the end of the xbox cloud gaming beta. this service now supports 1440p resolution and improved bitrates. these new features are exclusive to game pass ultimate subscribers.
