Microsoft will reportedly be adding new tiers and pricing to its Xbox Game Pass subscription with the addition of Call of Duty to its game catalog.
Insider and content creator Nate the Hate took to gaming enthusiast forum Reset Era, where he is known as NateDrake, to share that he is aware of Microsoft’s plans of bringing changes to Xbox Game Pass in the form of pricing and new tiers. His fellow member shinobi602, who also tends to have connections in the game industry, also hinted at the same.
Currently, the lower tier of the subscription service, Xbox Game Pass Core, is available for $9.99 a month. It features online console multiplayer, a catalog of over 25 games per year, and member deals. Meanwhile, the higher tier, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, is available for $16.99 a month. In addition to the benefits offered by Xbox Game Pass Core, Game Pass Ultimate offers a game catalog of hundreds of games across console, PC, and cloud. All of Microsoft’s first party titles are made available as part of this catalog on the day of their release.
The Xbox Game Pass catalog will soon be joined by Activision’s Call of Duty series, which appears to be the primary reason behind the upcoming changes to the subscription service’s tiers and pricing plan. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Microsoft plans a major shakeup of its video game sales strategy by releasing the next entry in the Call of Duty series to Xbox Game Pass at launch instead of Activision’s prior approach of having the popular first-person shooter series only being available for purchase. According to sources, the company is set to announce this shift in strategy at the coming Xbox showcase event next month. Prior to the the Microsoft deal last year, Activision was reluctant to fully embrace the subscription-based model for a game that readily sells at a premium price.
