The “cheap Game Pass” era may be ending, or at least being reworked. In a report published by The Verge on April 13, 2026, Microsoft’s new Xbox chief Asha Sharma said in a leaked internal memo that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players” and that the company needs “a better value equation” (The Verge, published 2026-04-13). That does not automatically mean an across-the-board price cut, but it does mean Microsoft now appears willing to admit publicly, through leaked internal language, that its current subscription setup is not landing the way it wants.
Quick answer: yes, Xbox leadership is signaling that Game Pass pricing has become a problem. Sharma’s memo says the current model “isn’t the final one,” and points toward a more flexible future rather than a simple defense of the status quo (The Verge, published 2026-04-13; Engadget, published 2026-04-13).
What the Xbox CEO actually said
The key quote matters because it is more nuanced than a panic headline. According to The Verge, Sharma wrote: “Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one. Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around” (The Verge, published 2026-04-13). Eurogamer reported the same language on April 14, 2026 and noted that Microsoft had not publicly commented beyond the leak at the time of publication (Eurogamer, published 2026-04-14).
Why players are reacting so strongly
Part of the backlash is simple math. The Verge says Microsoft raised Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 per month last year, which it described as a 50 percent increase (The Verge, published 2026-04-13). Eurogamer separately reported that Game Pass Ultimate had risen to $29.99 or £22.99 per month following that late-2025 shake-up (Eurogamer, published 2026-04-14). For a service once sold as the obvious value play in gaming, that is a very different pitch.
The Call of Duty factor also keeps coming up. The Verge says part of the pressure came from Microsoft’s decision to add Call of Duty to Game Pass, something it had reportedly debated internally because of the risk to traditional full-price sales, before bringing the franchise into the service in summer 2024 (The Verge, published 2026-04-13). Engadget’s April 13, 2026 coverage likewise said Verge sources suggested Call of Duty was one reason behind some of the price increases (Engadget, published 2026-04-13).
What could change next
Microsoft’s own current Game Pass page already shows a tiered value ladder: Essential advertises 50+ games, Premium advertises 200+ games, and Ultimate advertises 500+ games, with Premium getting new Xbox-published games within 12 months of launch and Ultimate getting day-one releases; the same page’s footnote says that launch timing benefit excludes Call of Duty titles for the relevant plans (Xbox official Game Pass page, fetched 2026-04-30). That makes Sharma’s “more flexible system” comment sound less like a total reboot and more like further tier experimentation, bundling, or feature reshuffling.
So, is this the end of cheap Xbox Game Pass? In practice, probably yes. Even if Microsoft introduces a friendlier entry point, the memo suggests the company no longer believes one broadly cheap subscription can carry the whole strategy. The likely next phase is more segmentation, more trade-offs between price and access, and a continued effort to convince players that Game Pass still feels like value instead of just another rising monthly bill.
FAQ
Did Xbox really say Game Pass is too expensive? Yes. The Verge reported on April 13, 2026 that Asha Sharma wrote in a leaked memo that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players” (The Verge, published 2026-04-13).
How much is Game Pass Ultimate now according to current reporting? The Verge and Eurogamer both cited a current Ultimate price of $29.99 per month, with Eurogamer also listing £22.99 in the UK (The Verge, published 2026-04-13; Eurogamer, published 2026-04-14).
Is Microsoft planning to kill Game Pass? No current report says that. Sharma’s leaked memo describes Game Pass as “central to gaming value on Xbox,” while arguing the model needs to evolve (The Verge, published 2026-04-13).
What does “more flexible system” likely mean? Microsoft has not detailed it yet, but the official Game Pass page already shows multiple tiers with different game counts and release timing, so future changes could mean more plan segmentation rather than one universal cheaper option (Xbox official Game Pass page, fetched 2026-04-30).
