- A prominent insider has backed up reports of Xbox considering a Game Pass tier dedicated to just first-party titles.
- Reports also suggest future Call of Duty titles may not be added to the subscription.
- These changes are part of a broader ongoing shift within Xbox.
With the arrival of CEO Asha Sharma, the Xbox brand is set to undergo major changes soon. Among these, recent chatter has pointed to the gaming giant discussing the status of exclusivity and Game Pass.
In the latter’s case, Asha Sharma recently admitted that the service needed to become more consumer-friendly. According to an insider, Xbox is now considering a first-party-only tier for the service.
Why it matters: Xbox raised the monthly price of Game Pass Ultimate to $30/month, making its day-one promise inaccessible to a large portion of the existing customer base that refused to pay the new cost.
As reported by Tom Warren, Xbox is indeed rethinking its tiers for Game Pass. According to the insider, there is a possibility Microsoft will introduce a completely new tier comprising just first-party titles.
This report backs up a previous datamine, which suggests this tier was already being worked on. Therefore, this plan would include the likes of Gears of War: E-Day, Halo Campaign Evolved, Forza Horizon 6, and more.
The report also backs up recent discussions regarding Xbox potentially getting rid of Call of Duty from the service. However, it is said that Xbox is weighing the option of not adding future Call of Duty titles to the service as opposed to removing any games already available to players.
Ultimately, these changes are part of a wider shift within the division. The gaming giant is currently looking to make deeper investments into the platform, ones that improve its value and appeal to mainstream audiences.
With Microsoft also preparing for Xbox Project Helix, expected to launch in 2027, any changes to Game Pass and the overall brand will likely serve to attract players toward the upcoming hardware.
How successful these plans will be remains to be seen, but Microsoft’s rumored initiatives seem to have plenty of potential for now.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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