Xbox Game Pass Users Hit By Unexpected Price Hike, Here We Go Again

Our luck was always going to run out eventually. Last year, Microsoft made the controversial decision to completely shake-up its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

As you’ll likely be aware, the tiers were redefined as Essential, Premium, Ultimate, and PC, with several of said tiers also witnessing price hikes.

Ultimate rose by a whopping 50%, jumping from $19.99 a month to $29.99 a month. The UK price rose from £14.99 to £22.99.

That was accompanied by extra perks, but gamers weren’t exactly convinced that the perks were worth the extra cash every month.

Premium now includes access to Ubisoft Classics and a Fortnite Crew subscription, the latter only being of use if you’re actually a Fortnite player.

Xbox Game Pass, Credit / Microsoft

One way that Xbox users have been getting around the price hike is by purchasing Game Pass vouchers on reputable third-party websites which is oftentimes cheaper than subscribing directly via your console.

If you want to see more from GAMINGbible, make us a preferred source on Google.

Amazon is one such place Xbox users have been going to nab Game Pass vouchers but as one Reddit user has revealed, price hikes have finally crept in.

“Game Pass on Amazon just increased,” Deevawn wrote, showing a jump from $59.99 to $89.99. “I hope this isn’t permanent. Amazon was the go to.”

I’m sorry to say but I’m pretty certain this will be permanent.

It’s Easier To Find Cheaper Game Pass Vouchers In IRL Stores

It’s likely that Amazon has finally run out of the old inventory of Game Pass vouchers with the new inventory reflecting the price hike announced last year.

User Majestic-Bowler-1701 revealed they’d been looking into the issue, commenting that very few stores now had the old inventory left.

“This is the last chance to buy Game Pass Ultimate at the old price. Only a few stores still have old prepaid cards left, like Loaded (CDKeys),” they began.

“Current price on Loaded is 160 Euro (13 Euro per month) but this will end very soon because these are old Xbox One cards. I used them to extend my Ultimate until the end of 2028 (36 months).”

Other commenters recommend Dollar Tree in the US as well as gas stations, saying that they don’t typically sell that many so they’re a good shout for the old stock.

“If you leave your house, there are plenty of one-month cards for $19.99 and three-month cards for $59.99 at physical stores such as GameStop, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, etc,” declared Environmental-Day862.

That does seem to be the major consensus; pick up a voucher in your local store.

It goes without saying that those too will sell out of the old inventory eventually, so if you are avoiding the price hike, your days of doing so are numbered, but it’s a good little tip to know in the meantime.

Game Pass is brilliant but it is incredibly expensive.