“We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets. We don’t have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalized. There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one.”

The rumor came courtesy of ResetEra user Slayvern, who cited an anonymous source claiming that Game Pass is going to be consolidated into two tiers – an ad-supported one that costs $12.99 per month, and a no-ads tier at $19.99 per month. The source claimed that neither of these tiers would include day-one purchases, and even cloud gaming would be separated out into its own paid-for service, priced at $5.99 for 25 hours’ worth of playtime.

Another service that is reportedly being split off from Game Pass into its own thing is multiplayer access for Xbox console players. While Microsoft used to charge a monthly subscription fee for multiplayer access as far back as the original Xbox back in 2002 with a service then dubbed Xbox Live Gold, it was discontinued, with multiplayer access being consolidated into Xbox Game Pass Core in 2023. The report claims that multiplayer access will be priced at $10.99 per month.

The much-rumored family plan for Game Pass is also seemingly once more on the table, and is expected to be priced at $5.99 per month on top of the regular subscription prices for your chosen tier of the subscription service. All of these changes are reportedly in the works for launch between February and April 2027.

Lending further credence to Slayvern’s report is noted leaker and insider NateTheHate, who mentioned that the ResetEra user had accurately reported Game Pass being split into Core and Standard tiers in 2025 before Microsoft made its own official announcement.

“So, the individual giving them information clearly has knowledge of some matters,” wrote NateTheHate. “Whether the intended timeline stays true or slides about, we’ll learn in due time.”

A “pick-your-own-plan” approach to Game Pass was rumored back in April, with Windows Central’s Jez Corden saying that it would open up the subscription service to players who don’t necessarily want all of the features packed into it.

“Don’t want Xbox Cloud Gaming? Remove it and lower the price. No need for Fortnite Crew? Ditch it and add day-one Xbox games. Perhaps you can roll in World of Warcraft or Minecraft Realms subscriptions instead, or even other benefits like Netflix, per rumors, or the long-awaited Xbox Game Pass Family Plan.”

A report from May 2026 also indicated that third-party partner Electronic Arts was vehemently opposed to the idea of Game Pass getting a family plan.

However, those are new for Premium subscribers. Everyone else can expect the rogue-like Kernel Hearts on September 17th for Ultimate and PC. Yes, that’s more or less it for this week, though Premium wins once again with Ninja Gaiden 4 being available on the same day.

September 22nd features the debut of Well Dweller, a stunning Metroidvania for Ultimate and PC subscribers. Mad King Redemption follows for all three tiers on September 23rd, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available for Premium on September 25th. Things heat up on September 29th when Minecraft Dungeons 2 goes live, so that’s something to look forward to for Ultimate and PC.

Keeper joins Game Pass Premium on October 2nd, ironically after it launched recently for PS5. Meanwhile, Gears of War: E-Day kicks off the month properly, launching on day one for Ultimate and PC on October 6th. Essential subscribers can play Rematch on September 25th.

As always, several games will be leaving the service. You’ll have until September 30th to play the following:

• Atomfall (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Little Nightmares 2 Enhanced Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Little Rocket Lab (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sifu (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• SOPA Tale of the Stolen Potato (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sworn (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Terminull Brigade (Cloud, Console, and PC)

The ad-supported tier will seemingly be priced at $12.99 per month, while the other tier will cost $19.99 per month. Both tiers will also lose out on a few features, such as day-one first-party game releases and cloud streaming. The latter is set to be available as part of a separate bundle costing $5.99 for 25 hours’ worth of playtime. A family plan is also expected, priced at $5.99 per month on top of what Game Pass already costs.

Interestingly, it looks like Xbox might be going back to its Xbox Live Gold days, with the cost of multiplayer capability on consoles once more being separated from Game Pass. Multiplayer access is slated to cost $10.99 per month. All of these changes are expected to go live sometime between February and April 2027.

These details were reported by ResetEra user Slayven, who cited an unnamed source that has seemingly been correct in the past. In a follow-up post, noted leaker and industry insider Nate the Hate pointed out that Slayven shared details about Game Pass splitting its subscription service into Core and Standard tiers in 2025, before Microsoft made the official announcement.

“So, the individual giving them information clearly has knowledge of some matters,” wrote Nate. “Whether the intended timeline stays true or slides about, we’ll learn in due time.”

Following recent shake-ups at Xbox, including layoffs that involved approximately 1,600 job cuts, there have been plenty of questions raised about the viability of Game Pass as a business model. One report from back in July has indicated that there were many members of leadership amongst Xbox’s various development teams who “absolutely detest” the subscription service.

“There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass and think it has destroyed the value of their games,” alleged Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. “They think it has taken away the value from all games in general and has been a detriment to the games industry because of how it devalues games.”

A report from June has also indicated that there might be a wider move among Xbox to move away from relying so heavily on Game Pass. Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios’ CEO, Shams Jorjani, revealed back in June that the company has been freezing its deals with third-party studios to bring titles to the service.

Back in May, there were also reports indicating that a family plan for Game Pass was once in the works, but ultimately scrapped due to objections from third-party publishers. The report noted that Electronic Arts was the main culprit for this, and that the company “hated” the idea of the service getting a family plan.

Earlier this year, we also saw reports indicating that Microsoft has been looking into how it can allow subscribers to “pick your own plan” when it comes to Game Pass subscriptions.

What happens if you run out of hours? Xbox, in all its generosity, will let you purchase more from the store. It hasn’t provided details on the exact pricing, though this (and other factors, like purchasing options) will vary. Those who aren’t subscribed to Game Pass but want to access cloud gaming can also purchase these hours.

Xbox One players can play Xbox Series X/S titles through this method, which somewhat addresses the shortage of current-gen hardware and rising prices. Only select titles are supported, but Xbox will expand this functionality “throughout the year.”

As for why it’s making this change (which it notes will impact four percent of subscribers), the company says, “The cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer. Moving to monthly limits allows us to keep offering the service while continuing to invest in its reliability and performance. We understand that for some players the practical result is a higher cost.”

More details will be provided in November before the limits go live, though Xbox is looking “closely to player feedback before and after the change takes effect.” While it’s seemingly open to making adjustments, you have to wonder how quickly those will happen if there’s significant backlash.

You have to wonder how common cloud gaming usage really is to warrant that. Then again, if it wasn’t, would Xbox really bother introducing monthly caps? There are a lot of questions to answer and hopefully more clarity down the line, so stay tuned.

If you need something more recognizable, Speedrunners 2: King of Speed launches on September 3rd for Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Of course, the biggest heavy hitters are Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on September 8th, followed by Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage on September 10th and RuneScape: Dragonwilds on September 15th. They’ll be available for all three tiers.

Otherwise, two unorthodox rogue-likes await: Dice a Million, which joins Premium on September 4th, and The Royal Writ, which is coming to all three tiers on September 10th. Sadly, the number of titles that are leaving this month far outweighs the new additions, and they include some heavy hitters.

Check out the full list below, which you have until September 15th to enjoy:

• Commandos: Origins (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cricket 24 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Cloud and Console)
• Dead Cells (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Deep Rock Galactic Survivor (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Frostpunk 2 (PC)
• Mullet Madjack (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Spiritfarer (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Superliminal (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Train Sim World 5 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Of course, there’s plenty more to come in the second half of September, including Minecraft Dungeons 2. October also looks packed with titles such as Gears of War: E-Day, Valor Mortis, and more coming to the service. Stay tuned for further updates on that front in the coming weeks.

Xbox isn’t the only part of the company facing losses, however, as the company has also reported that its Windows OEM and Devices division saw revenue go down by 7 percent.

When it comes to the company as a whole, however, Microsoft has reported an 18 percent increase in revenue over the course of FY26’s fourth quarter, amounting to around $90 billion. This growth has been linked to business like Microsoft 365 and Azure and other cloud services, all of which saw considerable growth across the board. The latter’s growth amounted to 43 percent when compared to the previous quarter.

In a statement, Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella praised the Azure division for having passed the $100 billion mark for revenue, as well as Microsoft 365 Copilot for getting more than 30 million paid users.

“We are advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve, ensuring every customer can turn tokens into business results. This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation.”

CFO Amy Hood highlighted the fact that Microsoft Cloud has made $59.3 billion this quarter, which is up by 27 percent year-over-year. When it comes to losses, however, the company noted that it was impacted by “several discrete items”, including a gain of $3.2 billion from its investment in AI company Anthropic and “lower-than-expected expenses related to the Voluntary Retirement Program” offered to Xbox employees.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced layoffs across the division earlier this month, confirming that approximately 1,600 jobs were affected. She also revealed that there are more planned cuts over the fiscal year, affecting another 1,600 roles.

“I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building Xbox,” she said in a statement. “Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved Xbox. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.”

As part of the layoffs, Xbox has also divested itself of four studios: Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory. While the latter two have been acquired by other companies, the former two have gone fully independent.

Following its split from Xbox, Double Fine announced that it had to undergo its own set of layoffs, with studio founder Tim Schafer confirming that 23 employees were affected. “Only the survival of our studio would ever make us consider such a painful action,” he said in a statement.

They’re available to purchase on the platform and included with all tiers of Game Pass. Better yet, you can play them on the go with the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X.

“This marks the beginning of a broader effort to preserve XBOX games from the past and bring them to PC over time. And we are not just enabling you to play them on PC. We are also adding new features to make your gaming experience better than ever.” These include VSync, up to 4x resolution upscaling, enhanced anti-aliasing, graphics settings, display modes, and more (including the ability to customize the audio and language).

But that’s not all. Any digital licenses for the above on consoles will apply on PC via Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming. That means they’re also playable on mobile through the cloud. And lest you think this is a one-time deal, Xbox plans to add more backwards-compatible titles and update the available four with Achievements.

The part about digital licenses seems to line up with rumors surrounding Positron, Xbox’s initiative to convert physical discs to the same. However, OG Xbox or Xbox 360 titles are reportedly not supported (which would explain why physical discs for the above games weren’t mentioned). Maybe this is the first step to a wider rollout in the coming months.

However, the inability of the service to reach a critical mass of subscribers that was needed to sustain it is what ultimately led to it not working out. Due to this, the service also couldn’t be used to fund more projects.

“I think it’s really sad, and I think it’s really unfortunate,” said Brown, “because they’ve honestly invested a fortune in the concept of Game Pass as a service, which led to loads of teams being acquired, loads of games being funded, loads of people getting jobs, all with a vision of getting regular games landing in this service for players. And I think the reality is not enough people have subscribed to it at the prices they needed to pay in order to make that business viable.”

“And that’s actually just really sad because we’re now going to see studios getting shut down or spun off. Loads of people are going to lose their jobs. And that is honestly just a result of a well-meaning, player-focused concept of Xbox Game Pass not working out. And that’s just a real shame.”

Brown also defended some of the Xbox employees that have been catching criticism from people, especially in light of the recent layoffs across the division.

“As much as people point fingers and call different people within Xbox the villain of the piece, the concept of Game Pass was good. It’s a good idea. Like, let’s have a subscription, make it affordable, try and get games to more people. We’ll have a really diverse selection of games on there. We’ll get a load of studios involved. We’ll make some games that probably couldn’t exist otherwise. And if more people had subscribed, that it makes enough money and it works and all of those studios go on, and those games get made again, and those teams will make other games. Unfortunately, it never reached the number that would make the $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard make financial sense.”

Brown is far from the first person to have spoken about the business behind the Game Pass subscription. Just last month, CEO of Moon Studios, George Broussard, had similarly noted that the subscription service had the potential to work out. However, his criticism largely revolved around Microsoft pushing out “mediocre content like a factory” on the service.

“You need those games your studios are producing to become smash hits, cultural events that everyone wants to play – but what was the big Xbox game in recent years that was just delightfully good? That game doesn’t exist,” he said, before going on to say that Microsoft needs to “deeply, fundamentally understand gamers and what they want”.

Nowadays, instead, it’s the phrase, “If something is too good to be true, it probably is.” Few things from the company fit that profile quite like Game Pass.

It’s funny looking back to its announcement almost a decade ago. A library of games available for how much monthly? Even if the industry was years off from paying $70 for new triple-A titles, $60 was still a significant price point, and being able to access such an extensive selection felt amazing. Of course, while Microsoft would entice everyone with the potential of adding backwards-compatible OG Xbox titles to the service, the next major step was announced: its first-party exclusives would become available on day one for subscribers. State of Decay 2, Forza Horizon 4, future Halo and Gears of War titles – it was simply unbelievable.

For those concerned about Xbox’s lack of exclusives at the time, Microsoft announced multiple acquisitions that same year, including Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, Playground Games and more. Game Pass Ultimate arrived in 2019 alongside PC Game Pass. Former Xbox head Phil Spencer called the service “completely sustainable.” Some of the hottest moments for the company were when it shadow-dropped big-name titles on Game Pass like Hi-Fi Rush and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered to pretty positive responses. Slowly but surely, it grew into one of, if not the best, subscriptions in gaming, spurring other companies to create their own in response (if not improve on existing models like PlayStation Plus).

Fast forward to now and suffice it to say that the overall atmosphere surrounding Game Pass is a lot different. Underwhelming Call of Duty titles, which has become a major anchor of Xbox’s software revenue, will no longer see new titles launching on day one for the service. Three of the previously mentioned studios (and Double Fine) acquired to bolster the catalogue – which they did, make no mistake – were sold off or became independent once more (not including Tango Gameworks being shut down before it was sold to Krafton). Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier recently reported that many people in Xbox’s studio leadership “absolutely detest” Game Pass as a whole, believing it to have “destroyed the value of their games.”

Spencer forecast 77 million subscribers by the end of July 2026 – reports claim that the current total is closer to around 30 million (which is down from the officially reported 34 million from 2024). Fun fact: At the time, he thought that if Microsoft couldn’t reach that figure, then it would be better served leaving the games business entirely.

Is it any coincidence that there have been reports about Xbox being spun off entirely or even turned into a joint venture before the layoffs were announced? I digress, but the timing is certainly interesting, especially since current CEO Asha Sharma admitted that Game Pass hasn’t grown at “the pace we expected.”

The only saving grace in all that is that it received a price drop after a controversial increase last year. Unfortunately, that hike resulted in millions of lost subscribers, according to Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball, and by the sound of recent reports, the company seems nowhere near reaching its 2024 peak.

For now, love it, hate it or ignore it, Xbox is in rebuild mode, cutting down on multiple layers of management and focusing on its biggest franchises. The problem is, it can’t just scuttle Game Pass at this point, even if it’s still shelling out money for third-party titles and devaluing its own exclusives, like the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day.

At the very least, it could have launched on PS5 and received some additional revenue from that, which might have helped shore up any potential sales lost through Game Pass. Now, it doesn’t get to have its cake and eat it too, and if recent console sales in the US are any indication, those price hikes in August for the Series X/S won’t help.

It’s funny, in a way. Game Pass is supposedly disliked internally and a major drain on resources while not growing, but alongside Candy Crush and Minecraft, it’s one of the few things propping up Xbox. It’s almost become an albatross for the company – existing in perpetuity with no concrete plans on how to combat subscriber numbers that have stagnated for years. Nothing in Sharma’s grand reset. No comments about it from all the executives talking about exclusives and whatnot.

At some point, before breaking all this down, I thought, “Well, Xbox doesn’t really have to kill Game Pass to survive.” And yet, I’m not so sure now. It could take several other steps – like cutting down on more day-one titles from first-party studios. We’ve already seen something when the new Game Pass Premium was revealed with Xbox-published titles arriving within a year of launch.

Otherwise, it’s hard to see a path forward for the service, especially since its existence runs counter to Xbox needing a “reliable pipeline of exclusive games” to bring the platform back to “consistent growth.” If Fallout 3 Remaster was shadow-dropped at next year’s Fallout Day in Washington, D.C., live in front of what may be an audience for that added bit of hype, are you going to buy it for, say, $50? Or will you play it on Game Pass, either because it’s a better deal or you’re already subscribed?

Will you pay full price for Fable or play it on Game Pass first to see if it’s for you? This isn’t to say that certain titles can’t coexist with the service – Forza Horizon 6 is a great example. But it’s also one of the few anomalies alongside Oblivion Remastered. Xbox’s multiplatform strategy may be a mess, but the fact that it’s still coming to PS5, especially after the blockbuster success of Forza Horizon 5, proves that it still wants a piece of that pie.

Promoting Xbox Series X/S growth is tough, and that’s before getting into price hikes and console shortages. Removing day-one first-party titles may also have a knock-on effect for PC. The majority sticks to Steam when it comes to purchasing titles, after all. One would assume that there’s some kind of crossover coming with Project Helix to allow for playing your Steam games on the platform, balancing it out with Game Pass. But again, if it sounds too good to be true, so on and so forth.

Aside from introducing that rumored free Cloud Gaming tier supported by advertising, Game Pass is a paradox for Xbox. It can’t be trifled with too much, lest it runs the risk of losing more subscribers, but it can’t be left alone at the risk of no growth. So while it won’t be sunset anytime soon, you have to wonder if those discussions are at least being explored, if not entertained. Regardless, even if Xbox opts to slay the albatross and move on, it won’t stop weighing on the company any time soon.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

It premieres on July 23rd for all three tiers and follows Remy as he ventures into Hadea to search for his parents in the midst of a civil war. The presence of supernatural monsters spawning from the Calamity doesn’t help either. Despite story and combat consternation, it’s well worth playing if you’re into an action-adventure that won’t hold your hand.

Next up is Halo: Campaign Evolved, the much-anticipated remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, which arrives on July 28th for Ultimate and PC Game Pass. While it retains the story and structure of the original, Halo Studios has added four-player co-op, three new Prologue missions, dozens of new Skulls, Campaign Remix and much more.

Mistfall Hunter debuts on July 30th for the same tiers, offering a PvEvP Souls-like extraction loop for up to three players. Then there’s Corsair Cove, a city builder with a pirate twist from Limbic Entertainment debuting on July 31st.

As a small preview for next month, you can look forward to Heretic + Hexen on Premium and Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation on August 4th. The latter is a triple-A action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, where players control Emma and Koo in their journey to stop the Blight. Head here for more details.

Of course, as usual, there’s a selection of titles leaving the service on July 31st. Check them out below:

• Back to the Dawn (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Celeste (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Rain World (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sniper Elite Resistance (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Whiskerwood (PC)