This has been announced by Microsoft Gaming's CEO Asha Sharma Xbox Game Pass gets a price cut, at least when it comes to the Ultimate level. Xbox Game Pass' Ultimate tier getting cheaper is sure to anger many gamers, but this price cut comes with the cost of losing a major franchise as a first release.
Asha Sharma has only been CEO of Microsoft Gaming for a few months now, but she's hit the ground running when it comes to embracing her new role. Xbox's leadership change has left many gamers curious about where the company's future is headed. With both Phil Spencer and his expected successor Sarah Bond out of the picture, Xbox could be headed in a much different direction than some had expected. Now, Asha Sharma is making some big moves by shaking up not only the Game Pass price, but also the Day One launch list.
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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be cheaper, but Call of Duty games will no longer be released on day one
Asha Sharma took to Twitter earlier today to announce that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is coming change from its current price of $29.99 to $22.99 a month. However, the only downside to this change is that it is new Call of Duty games will no longer launch on the first day of the platform. All current Call of Duty Games will remain for players, and new releases will eventually make their way to the Ultimate tier about a year after their initial release.
So far, Sharma's announcement has been met with a lot of positive feedback, but there are still some who are upset Call of Duty removed from the Game Pass Day One schedule. Launching day one on Game Pass, the beloved FPS series has been a huge draw for many players, but there have also been some significant downsides. Last year it was reported Call of Duty on Game Pass cost Microsoft $300 million in sales. On the bright side, Sharma's assurance that Call of Duty games coming to Ultimate eventually is better than removing Game Pass entirely.
The new Microsoft Gaming boss' decision to lower Ultimate's prices isn't too surprising in retrospect. Just earlier this month, a leaked Xbox memo revealed that Asha Sharma thought Game Pass was too expensive. This was the first big hint that a price change was coming eventually, but many fans probably didn't expect to lose out on Call of Duty day one is launched as a result.
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Sharma concluded her announcement tweet by saying that she and the Xbox team will work to evolve the subscription service to make it a more user-friendly platform. It's unclear what exactly that means yet, but it could lead to steps in the right direction. There are still plenty of great Xbox Game Pass games out there Call of Dutys trajectory to look forward to. Activision's no-longer-day-one military shooter franchise is sure to sting some fans, but the overall change will at least be easier on many gamers' wallets.
