Xbox Game Pass reveals controversial change to stacking memberships

Microsoft has implemented a controversial change to Xbox Game Pass that will no doubt annoy a lot of its active subscribers and rightly so, in my opinion.

Regardless of the tier that you may subscribe to, Xbox Game Pass is good value for money offering a plethora of popular AAA titles, indie darlings, retro classics and some day-one releases. That being said, another controversial change regarding day one releases on Xbox Game Pass has also been implemented which will make the subscription service a lot less appealing.

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The word “stacking” is often used in relation to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. While each offers good value for money, it can still be quite expensive whether we pay monthly, quarterly or yearly.

At least once or twice a year, Sony and Microsoft will offer big discounts for year subscriptions to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, and to save money in the long run, we might pay for one, two, three or more yearly subscriptions. Those advanced subscription payments will then be stacked on top of one another, meaning that we’ve not got to worry about paying for the subscription for maybe two or three years.

In 2022, following Sony’s revision of PlayStation Plus, it reportedly attempted to combat stacking following a price increase by charging current subscriptions the price difference, which as you can imagine, didn't go down well. Now, Microsoft has implemented its strategy against stacking following a price hike.

As shared by Twitter user Wario64, following the announcement that Xbox Game Pass is receiving a price increase across multiple regions, from 12 September 2024, you will only be able to stack subscriptions for up to 13 months. Meaning, that if you saw a great deal for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate after 13 September, you won't be able to stack it over two or three-plus years.

The only plus side of this news is that if you already have your Xbox Game Pass subscription stacked for over 13 months, you won't be affected. This will only have an impact on those who attempt to stack after 13 September, and if you do, there’s a chance that your additional subscriptions may be lost in the Microsoft vortex.

It’s a shame this is being done because, at the end of the day, customers were only buying subscriptions based on the prices set by Microsoft and stacking was a great way for us to save money and not have to worry about paying for the next subscription for a while.