Back on October 1, 2025, Microsoft earned the ire of Xbox gamers with the substantial price jump of Game Pass’ monthly access from $20 per month to $30 per month for new subscribers. That wasn’t so much sneaking the heat upward on the frog in the boiling pot as leaping toward the stove and cranking the burner straight to high.

Well, Microsoft heard the uproar about the price jump for Game Pass Ultimate and announced the new price of $23 per month effective immediately, as of April 21, 2026. Judging from Microsoft’s language in its April 21, 2026 public announcement, it seems that this isn’t a temporary deal, but rather a downward price adjustment that’ll stick around indefinitely.

Almost back down to the old price. almost.

Chalk this up as, more or less, a win for consumer outrage. But it’s not all peaches and bathroom potpourri. The price drop accompanies a bit of unsavory news. Prior to now, Game Pass subscribers had Call of Duty, the wildly popular franchise that’s been dominating the first-person shooter segment since the original came out in 2003.

Call of Duty releases had been appearing on Game Pass on or shortly after their release dates since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in July 2024, followed by Black Ops 6 in October of that year. But along with the price drop, Microsoft has cut off new Call of Duty titles from appearing on Game Pass Ultimate (and PC Game Pass) until roughly a year has passed since their releases.

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“New Call of Duty games will be added to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass during the following holiday season (about a year later),” read Microsoft’s announcement, “while existing Call of Duty titles already in the library will continue to be available.”

Microsoft hasn’t drawn the dotted line between the price drop and rescinding of Call of Duty’s day-one access, but the fact that they came in the same announcement and on the same day all but ties one to the other. So we got the lower price, or close to it, after all. But it cost us future CoD releases, so Call of Duty players who don’t want to pay for the latest titles may end up spending just as much as before if they subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate and pay for CoD games separately.