Xbox Game Pass tries to tackle evergreen games like Fortnite — but it won’t work

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As an analyst, I’ve been following Xbox closely, and this morning they announced some upcoming changes to their Game Pass subscription service. It looks like Microsoft is making some adjustments to how Game Pass works.

Xbox Game Pass has been updated with improvements across all subscription levels, including PC and cloud gaming options. The most expensive tier, Game Pass Ultimate, now includes extra benefits to match its significantly increased price – a jump to $30 per month, which is a 50% increase in the US.

The new pricing at the highest level hasn’t gone over well with dedicated players online – in fact, it’s sparked a lot of anger and criticism.

That’s all perfectly understandable, but it’s also worth considering what Xbox was *trying* to achieve. They’re addressing a real issue, but their approach isn’t quite right.

The Games-As-A-Service elephant in the room

As many of you know, I really value the data shared by Mat Piscatella, an executive director and analyst at Circana. He consistently publishes weekly reports on the most popular games played in the United States, and I find his insights very helpful.

If you look at the most popular games over the past year, you’ll notice a pattern: it’s usually the same few titles, and many of them are free to play. These games are dominating everyone’s attention.

As a researcher tracking player engagement, I consistently see Fortnite and Call of Duty at the top of the charts – they often trade places, but they’re always the most popular games. Roblox and Grand Theft Auto 5 reliably hold the third and fourth positions. Beyond that, the rankings become a little more varied, but most of the games that follow are still those focused on ongoing service and updates – things like Marvel Rivals, Minecraft, and similar titles.

Occasionally, a game really takes off, like PlayStation’s Helldivers 2, which recently became available on Xbox and is designed as a constantly updated, ongoing experience.

A challenge facing the entire gaming industry is how to attract players who primarily enjoy free games like Fortnite to subscription services. Recently, I’ve heard from Xbox staff that getting these players onto Xbox Game Pass is a key long-term objective, although specific plans weren’t shared.

I understand the concept. The idea is to bundle a Fortnite Crew subscription-which includes the Battle Pass and in-game currency-with access to new Xbox games. This could encourage players who already buy Fortnite battle passes to try out other games through the subscription.

From my analysis, a price increase like this, impacting core Xbox users so directly, risks driving them away. Any potential gains from the increase would likely be offset, or at least significantly lessened, by customer loss.

It doesn’t make sense to alienate your dedicated fans just for the chance of attracting new, more casual players.

So…what happens now?

We’re seeing more and more automated accounts, or ‘bots,’ online, and I generally advise people to be skeptical of strong reactions on social media. However, in this situation, the anger being expressed feels genuine and justified.

My coworker, Jennifer Young, recently wrote about feeling that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for her. And based on my conversations with friends and colleagues today, she’s not alone in feeling that way.

If enough people cancel their orders, might Microsoft change its plans, perhaps by scaling back its approach? It’s definitely a possibility.

Xbox has a lot of exciting games coming out soon, ranging from unique, creative titles like Keeper by Double Fine to large-scale role-playing adventures such as The Outer Worlds 2. It’ll be interesting to see how these games perform and what players think.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

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2025-10-02 14:41