Following a recent rumor indicating that Xbox is planning some major changes to Game Pass, including stopping day-one game releases on the subscription service, the company has now offered a statement. Talking to Forbes’ Paul Tassi, a spokesperson for Xbox said that the company doesn’t currently have anything to announce, and that it is regularly testing how it can change the service to ensure that it remains valuable to subscribers in different markets.
“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.
