Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now more affordable in India after price drop

Microsoft has officially reduced the pricing of its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. This comes months after the company hiked the prices for the plan last year, which drew criticism from users. The change is now live on the gaming service globally, including India. Also Read: Anthropic’s Claude AI comes to Microsoft Word: What it can do inside documents

The price cut follows feedback from users who felt the service had become expensive. Along with the price drop, the company has announced a few changes going forward. Also Read: Microsoft is shutting down this Outlook app on May 25: What should you do?

New pricing in India and global markets

The biggest change is in the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. In India, the subscription is now priced at Rs 1,089 per month, down from the earlier Rs 1,389 tag. Also Read: Xbox Game Pass April Wave 1 lineup announced: Full list of games here

In the US, too, the plan now costs $22.99 per month, down from $29.99. The PC Game Pass tier has also seen a small drop, going from $16.49 to $13.99. In India, it now costs Rs 879 per month instead of Rs 939.

Why Microsoft reduced the price

The company has said that the price cut follows user feedback. According to Asha Sharma, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, the service felt too expensive for many players.

Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players. Starting today, we’re dropping the price from $29.99 to $22.99/month.
Future Call of Duty titles will no longer join Game Pass Ultimate on day one. They will join this tier the following holiday after launch (about…

— Asha (@asha_shar) April 21, 2026

The price cut seems to be an attempt to make the gaming service more accessible again and keep users engaged. With subscription-based gaming becoming more competitive, this feels like a welcoming move.

What changes with Call of Duty

The company also announced an important change along with the new pricing. Microsoft will be scrapping the day-one release strategy for future Call of Duty titles on Game Pass Ultimate.

Instead, new releases in the franchise will be added to the service later, usually during the next holiday season. Existing Call of Duty titles that are already available in the library will continue to be playable.

This reflects a shift from the earlier release strategy where some major titles were available immediately at launch.

What users still get

Despite this change, most of the core benefits remain the same. Subscribers will get access to a vast library of games on console as well as PC, along with online multiplayer support.

Other features like cloud gaming and in-game perks will also continue to be part of the plan. Day-one access is still available for several other first-party titles from Microsoft.

What it means for players

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The price drop makes Game Pass Ultimate easier to justify for many users, especially those who were unsure after the previous hike.