Microsoft employees no longer have access to free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions

Microsoft has decided to end its complimentary access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for its employees starting in January 2024, as reported by The Verge. However, employees working in the Xbox division will still have the privilege of using this service. Those in other departments within the company will have the option to continue using the service by purchasing an annual subscription at a discounted rate through Microsoft's internal store.

These changes have sparked discontent among some employees, and according to reports, Xbox head Phil Spencer expressed surprise and pledged to investigate the situation, claiming he was unaware of such a decision.

In July of the current year, Microsoft raised the prices for certain Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now costing $16.99 per month or £12.99 per month. The company also increased the price of the Xbox Series X in most countries in August.

September 2023 also brought changes to the subscription structure when the platform replaced the long-standing Xbox Live Gold subscription with the new Xbox Game Pass Core membership tier.

As of January 2022, Xbox Game Pass had over 25 million subscribers, but official data on the number of paying subscribers has not been provided since then.

Phil Spencer also noted that the growth of Xbox Game Pass on consoles had slowed down in October of the previous year, but the number of PC subscribers continues to grow rapidly.

Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, confirmed that the launch of the game Starfield in September set a new record for the most new Game Pass subscriptions in a single day.