Game Pass Price Change 22 April 2026 — And What It Means for Call of Duty

Big news dropped for Xbox fans on 22 April 2026: Microsoft officially reduced the price of its Game Pass subscription tiers, but with a major trade-off that affects one of the biggest franchises in gaming — Call of Duty.

Here’s everything you need to know 👇

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🎮 Game Pass Gets Cheaper — At Last

Microsoft announced a price cut for its flagship subscription services, effective immediately:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate dropped from about $29.99 / £22.99 to around $22.99 / £16.99 per month
• PC Game Pass also decreased — from around $16.49 / £13.49 to roughly $13.99 / £10.99 per month

The price drop is designed to address widespread feedback that the service had become “too expensive” following steep increases in late 2025.

For many players this is welcome news — especially if you never really cared about blockbuster day-one releases and just want solid value for subscription gaming.

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🧠 But There’s a Big Catch: Call of Duty Is No Longer Day One

While the price cut sounds great on the surface, Microsoft announced a major change to how Call of Duty titles are offered on Game Pass.

👉 Starting with future releases, new Call of Duty games will no longer be included on Game Pass on their launch day.

Instead:

• New Call of Duty titles will join Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass about a year after release, typically during the holiday season
• Existing Call of Duty games already in the service’s library will stay available
• Only older Call of Duty entries will remain playable for subscribers, while new ones launch on traditional retail first and arrive later on Game Pass
• Xbox still says it plans to support Call of Duty through catalog inclusion — just not at launch.

This marks a major shift from the strategy Microsoft used after acquiring Activision Blizzard, which had seen recent Call of Duty releases added to Game Pass on day one in hopes of driving new subscriptions.

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🤔 Why This Change Happened

Industry analysts have pointed out that:

• The inclusion of flagship titles like Call of Duty at launch didn’t significantly grow Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions
• It was also hurting Call of Duty sales revenue in traditional retail channels
• By delaying Call of Duty’s arrival on Game Pass, Microsoft can offer a more affordable subscription price while still eventually adding the games to the service

In short: the day-one strategy didn’t deliver the expected growth, and Microsoft is pivoting to balance cost and value.

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🧠 How This Affects You (Quick Breakdown)

🎟️ Subscribers

• Good: Lower monthly cost is a big win for many players
• Bad: Day-one access to new Call of Duty games is gone — at least for now

🎮 Call of Duty Fans

• If you mainly subscribed to Game Pass to play CoD titles at launch, you’ll likely need to buy them separately or wait about a year
• Older Call of Duty games already on Game Pass aren’t going anywhere

💡 Casual Players

• The cheaper Game Pass might actually be better value, especially if you weren’t interested in blockbuster launches

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📅 What’s Next

This change could signal a broader shift in how subscription gaming services balance blockbuster titles and pricing strategy. As Microsoft continues evolving Game Pass, players can expect:

• More frequent price adjustments
• Catalogue additions and removals still ongoing
• A continued focus on value and flexibility for subscribers

If you’re interested in getting game pass at even more of a discount, check out loaded for deals!