Xbox Game Pass Could Get Another Price Hike—Here’s Why Fans Are Worried

Xbox Game Pass might be going up in price again, and no, you're not imagining it. Subscribers who already felt the sting of last year's increase could soon be looking at yet another bump—this time, quietly hinted at through backend code.

The heads-up came from RedPhx, a developer known for the Better xCloud project. He spotted a new notification tag labeled “SubscriptionPriceIncrease” embedded in Xbox Cloud Gaming's code. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to figure out what that might mean.

"SubscriptionPriceIncrease" — yes, that’s the actual tag. That alone says enough.

If you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t they just raise prices?” You’re right. In 2023, Microsoft bumped Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $17 to $20 per month and pushed PC Game Pass from $10 to $12. That wasn’t well received, especially since the company also introduced the Game Pass Standard tier, which strips out day-one releases—the very thing many subscribers value most.

Now it looks like another increase could be looming. While Microsoft hasn’t made any announcements yet, this new code suggests internal preparations are underway.

From a business standpoint, the strategy makes sense. Game Pass continues to offer a strong value proposition with consistent day-one first-party launches, third-party titles, and a broad library. In 2025 alone, we’ve already seen top-tier drops like Oblivion Remastered, Balatro, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Doom: The Dark Ages hit the platform.

And looking ahead, October is shaping up to be a major month with Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, and The Outer Worlds 2 all landing within weeks of each other. This is the kind of content rollout that helps Microsoft justify charging more, at least from a corporate perspective.

But here’s where things start to crack. Microsoft recently became the first of the major platform holders to hike the price of its first-party games from $70 to $80. That move raised eyebrows, especially since Game Pass was supposed to be the “affordable” answer to rising gaming costs. Add a second Game Pass subscription hike within 18 months, and the narrative starts to shift. It’s no longer about accessibility. It’s about margin.

Even so, this potential price increase isn’t officially confirmed. The leaked code is real, but it could just be part of general backend preparation. Still, changes like this don’t get implemented for no reason. If Microsoft is loading the trigger, there’s a decent chance they’re planning to pull it.

For fans, this is a tricky spot. Game Pass is still one of the best deals in gaming if you play regularly. But the constant pricing shifts—and the quiet ways they’re being telegraphed—make it hard to trust that the value you sign up for today will be the one you’re still getting next year.

From a market view, Microsoft seems to be betting that players will accept these changes so long as the games keep coming. And maybe they’re right. But if prices keep creeping up while key features like day-one access get split off into more “premium” tiers, the goodwill that built Game Pass in the first place could start to erode.

Until Microsoft makes it official, nothing’s certain. But if you’re a subscriber, it might be a good time to keep an eye on your billing cycle—and brace for change.