After the announcement of a 50% price hike for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, many Xbox fans are understandably calling it quits. Leaving Game Pass behind doesn’t necessarily mean people won’t be playing on their Xbox anymore, though. Except now, some fans are discovering that they’re fully in the era of Game Pass enshittification.
People logging into their Xbox today will be greeted with a full-page ad for Game Pass. Full-page ads aren’t new to Xbox, even for people subscribed to the highest tier of Game Pass. And in this case, Microsoft may want to let people know about the changes coming to the service. A pop-up like the one pictured below is a guaranteed way to reach the relevant customers. At the same time, for disgruntled fans who feel that the massive price increase is outrageous or greedy, being greeted with a reminder of the service they just canceled comes across as tone-deaf.
Microsoft has also sent out emails to Xbox users that don’t mention an actual price increase, instead only emphasizing how awesome Game Pass is. I got the email while still actually subscribed to the service.
The pop-up is what Xbox users will see upon booting up. But those who cancel Game Pass specifically are discovering that their home pages are now filled with ads for the subscription service. Games downloaded through Game Pass will always have the associated icon, and there’s always been a dedicated tab for the subscription at the top of the screen.
But multiple areas of the home page telling you about Game Pass seems egregious if not nonsensical. For example, in the segment below that’s displaying Hogwarts Legacy, the fact “Available with Game Pass Ultimate and Premium” takes up so much real estate makes it hard to understand if the segment pertains to a game you already have, or a game you could get with the service. Either way, it comes across like an ad for Game Pass.
Upon logging in today with an active subscription, my home screen looks a little different. I don’t have multiple blips advertising Game Pass, but the single area that is dedicated to it is the size of multiple icons of games that I actually own. I did cancel the service this morning, and found that Microsoft’s website took minutes to load. Given how many people are looking up how to cancel their service, it may be a while before Microsoft’s website stabilizes. But it’s an improvement over yesterday, when the website reportedly wasn’t working well for many visitors.
With such intense negative reaction toward the impending Game Pass changes, alongside decreasing console sales (and price hikes), it’s possible that consumers might experience even more changes to the service. Many major media subscription services, like Netflix and Disney Plus, offer an ad-supported tier that’s either free or cheaper than the paid options. Experts suggest that an ad-supported tier hitting Game Pass isn’t totally out of the question. Even more price increases are also possible, according to industry insiders.
Consider this: Microsoft just added 90 new games alongside new perks like Fortnite Crew to help sell the new Game Pass tier, only to be met with an exodus from customers. Retaining those new offerings sustainably will be difficult with fewer patrons. 2026, then, is an open question for Xbox fans who are still opening up their wallets.
