Xbox Game Pass Might Be Losing One Of Its Biggest Perks

Xbox Game Pass has gotten a good bit more expensive as of late, and instead of upping its offerings to match the value, it might be getting rid of one of its strongest assets. Currently, the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier costs $30 a month, offering day-one access to plenty of new releases to justify its price.

The overall emphasis on day-one releases shouldn’t be changing, and Xbox Game Pass has already confirmed that titles like Forza Horizon 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and Fable will be available through the Ultimate subscription when they launch. Unfortunately, future Call of Duty titles may not be.

Call Of Duty Might Leave Xbox Game Pass

A recent YouTube video from Jez Corden, the editor of Windows Central, suggested that Call of Duty may no longer be available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the future. Cordon proposes a scenario where Microsoft takes Call of Duty out of Game Pass in 2026 and notes that this “is a possibility, from what [he’s] heard.”

Earlier in the episode, Cordon explains that Call of Duty‘s availability on Game Pass is a significant investment for the service, as Microsoft pays its own first-party studios for game performance on Game Pass. For his part, he notes that he’d be happy to pay less for a personalized subscription that doesn’t include Call of Duty. Arguing that Game Pass Ultimate’s $30 dollar monthly price may be difficult to sustain, he posits that new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma might shake up the service this year.

The Future Of Game Pass Is Uncertain

Ultimately, this is all just speculation for now, so there’s a possibility that Call of Duty won’t be going anywhere this year. Even if there is a shake-up, it might not be a bad one.

Xbox Game Pass could continue to offer Call of Duty access for $30, for instance, while allowing the same benefits as an Ultimate subscription at a lower price with Call of Duty removed. Call of Duty is already exempted from the standards applied to other titles, as Premium subscribers don’t gain access a year after launch like with other day-one Ultimate games.

All the same, it’s hard to imagine many services getting either cheaper or better at the moment, so it’s easy to be pessimistic about the future of Xbox Game Pass. If one thing’s for certain, it’s that a new Call of Duty game is always on the way, so we should find out whether Game Pass users will have access or not before the end of the year.

Number of Devices Concurrently

Standard subscription plan allows two accounts playing at once, with four accounts playing at once on Friends & Family plan

Highest Resolution

1440p streaming

Number of Accounts

~35 million subscribers

Compatibility

Xbox Series X|S, PC, ROG Xbox Ally, Android, iOS, Samsung & LG TVs, Meta Quest, Web Browser

Price Per Month

Essential $9.99 | Premium $14.99 | Ultimate $29.99

Price per year

12-month membership codes only available at certain retailers