I have been a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber since day one and I have defended it in more arguments than I care to remember. It launched third-party games day one. It had incredible first party titles. The value was genuinely undeniable.
I want to check in with the community on this because I'm starting to feel like the product has quietly shifted under my feet.
Things that have changed that I'm not sure about:
- The price has gone up. Significantly. Ultimate is now $19.99 a month in the US.
- Starfield was on it day one and... that's great. But Starfield was a 7/10 game.
- Several high-profile third party games have left the service.
- The tier system (Game Pass Core, Game Pass Standard, Game Pass Ultimate) is confusing in a way that feels deliberately designed to push you to the most expensive option.
Things that are still genuinely great:
- EA Play included is legitimately good value
- Day one releases of first-party titles is still unmatched by any competitor
- The back catalogue has some absolute gems
- Cloud gaming has actually got pretty good
So: are you still subscribed? Do you think it's worth it at the current price? And for those of you who cancelled — what was the moment that did it?
Genuinely not trying to start a console war here, I'm an Xbox owner asking other Xbox owners to be honest with me.