Xbox Game Pass for PC Price Increasing as Beta Ends | Game Rant
Xbox Game Pass is increasingly being described as one of the best deals in gaming, granting access to over 100 games including first-party Xbox games at launch for just $10 a month. Surprisingly little has been said about Xbox Game Pass for PC, which includes a majority of the same games but at half the price. Xbox has been offering Xbox Game Pass for PC for just $5 a month as part of the service's "beta," but all good things come to an end. Xbox announced today that Xbox Game Pass for PC is increasing in price soon.
Since the $5 a month price for Xbox Game Pass for PC has been tied to the game's beta, it makes sense then that as the beta ends, the price will rise. That's exactly what's happening here. Xbox is officially ending the Game Pass for PC beta and is moving into "General Availability" starting next week. Details regarding what General Availability means aren't available. Presumably, the service won't see any changes, but rather Microsoft is simply happy with the state of Game Pass on PC and its client.
As for what the price will be changing to, Xbox confirmed that it will depend on users' region. For those in the USA, however, the price will be jumping up to be in parity with Xbox Game Pass for console. For those unfamiliar, that price is $9.99 per month. The new price will come into effect on September 17 and will continue on from that point forward.
For those who currently have a monthly Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription, Xbox is giving subscribers a bit of leeway. Following the September 17, subscribers will get one more billing cycle at $5. Every cycle after that will be at the new $9.99 price point. This is so subscribers will have the opportunity to either unsubscribe or decide to stay on without being rushed to make a decision, but the new price will be set in stone before the launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
One other important point to make is that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will not be changing as a result of Xbox Game Pass for PC's price increase. Ultimate was $14.99 a month before the change, and it will remain $14.99 going forward.
A price increase of 100% would normally be very controversial for a subscription, but that just goes to show how incredibly good the value was for Xbox Game Pass for PC before. And potentially still is, for that matter. Even at $9.99, Xbox Game Pass for PC is arguably still an outstanding value. There are just so many first-party games being released by Xbox these days, and they're all on Game Pass at launch.
Xbox Game Pass for PC is available now.
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