New information taken from the code of Xbox Cloud Gaming indicates that Microsoft could be preparing to hike the prices of Xbox Game Pass subscriptions once more. Xbox Game Pass is widely considered an excellent subscription service, but recent price hikes have not made the community very happy, and another increase is potentially bad news for gamers.
Originally started in July 2017, Xbox Game Pass currently has over 35 million subscribers. Over the years, the service has offered access to multiple major day one releases for subscribers, including first and third-party games such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Forza Motorsport, STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Blue Prince, Persona 3 Reload, and others.
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Now, RedPhx, who’s behind the Better xCloud enhancement project, has spotted a worrisome detail in the code of Xbox Cloud Gaming. According to the programmer, xCloud added a new notification type called “SubscriptionPriceIncrease,” which has a pretty self-explanatory name. This is potentially bad news for subscribers, as it means that Microsoft could be planning to hike the prices of one or more subscription tiers.
New Notification Type Could Indicate That Xbox Game Pass Will Hike Prices Again Soon
Considering that Xbox recently hiked the price of its first-party major releases from $70 to $80, a price increase for Game Pass would not be entirely surprising. However, Microsoft already increased Xbox Game Pass prices last year, taking the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier from $17 to $20 monthly, and increasing PC Game Pass from $10 to $12. At the time, Microsoft also introduced the controversial Xbox Game Pass Standard, which does not come with day one releases. So, increasing prices again this year is likely to not sit well with the community. Obviously, this report does not confirm that prices will increase, so gamers should take this indication with a grain of salt.
Xbox Game Pass had multiple excellent releases in 2025, including some highly rated games such as Oblivion Remastered, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Balatro, Doom: The Dark Ages, and more. So, if prices do increase, at least the flux of new games added to the service should continue to be satisfactory.
Xbox Game Pass also has a variety of first-party day one releases lined up to come out soon. While some titles, such as Fable, still do not have a release date, October 2025 will be stacked for Game Pass subscribers, for example, with Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, and The Outer Worlds 2 all releasing in that month. It remains to be seen if the rumored price increase will indeed happen, so gamers should keep an ear out for confirmation.