Just a while ago, Microsoft officials hinted that they would next target their Xbox Game Pass The service has undergone a wave of large-scale adjustments, and earlier this week, the detailed plan was officially announced, which includes a monthly fee reduction, and the new games in the “Decisive Hour” series that are regularly launched every year will not continue to be on the platform on the first day of launch.
Here are the new pricing and content for each plan:
Xbox Game Pass Essential (formerly Core) – NT$259 per month (unchanged)
Players who subscribe to this plan will not be able to play some of Xbox’s key first-party titles immediately on launch day, but many popular games have been added to the game library, such as “Dirt 76”, “Doom: Eternal” and “Gears of War 5”. In addition to games, subscribers also get access to Xbox console online multiplayer features, as well as many discounts on game purchases and even free play days on select games.
Xbox Game Pass Premium (formerly Standard) – NT$349 per month (unchanged)
The higher-level Premium includes all the benefits of the Essential plan, and can also play a huge game library containing hundreds of Xbox titles. However, this plan still does not include the first major masterpieces, but will be added “within 12 months after launch.”
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate－649 → NT$449 per month
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was raised to $30 per month in October 2025, a move that sparked criticism. By April 2026, new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma stated in a memo to employees that Game Pass Ultimate was “too expensive” for players, which ultimately led to this price reduction.
The Game Pass Ultimate plan provides the most complete service, allowing players to play 500 games that can be played on consoles and PCs. They can also play various key masterpieces on the day of launch and use the cloud streaming function. In addition to Xbox games, this plan also combines third-party membership services such as EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, and Fortnite Crew. Plus, all the benefits of other console tiers are included, such as in-game rewards, discounts, online multiplayer, and more.
PC Game Pass－399 → NT$339 per month
PC-only players can also choose the PC Game Pass plan, which allows them to play hundreds of titles included in the Xbox and EA Play game libraries, and can also play many key masterpieces on launch day.
While lowering the monthly fees for multiple plans, Microsoft also confirmed that the new titles in the “Cruel Hour” series will no longer be added to the service immediately upon launch, but will instead be launched on the Game Pass platform one year after their launch.
At present, it seems that many of the first-party games that Microsoft has disclosed so far will still be on the Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass plans at launch. However, when the official blog announced these changes, it did not clearly confirm whether first-party games would continue to be available for launch in the future, which also led to speculation about whether Microsoft is considering excluding other large-scale works.
Source: KOCPC Chinese