Microsoft has decided to temporarily postpone the planned price increases for its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service for certain existing users residing in a limited number of international markets. This development follows the company’s announcement from the prior week, in which it revealed that the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would undergo a substantial rise—approximately fifty percent more than the previous rate. However, Microsoft has now clarified that this significant adjustment in pricing will, at least for the time being, apply exclusively to brand-new purchases or newly established subscriptions. Existing members located in specific countries—including Austria, Germany, Ireland, Israel, South Korea, Poland, and India—will not yet experience any change to their current billing amount.
In a detailed email communication distributed overnight to a selection of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, the company explicitly explained the terms of this exemption. Microsoft stated that, at present, the price revisions will impact only new purchases and not active subscriptions in the customer’s own region, provided that the subscriber’s plan remains in continuous auto-renewal status. In other words, as long as users keep their automatic recurring payments active without interruption, their monthly fee will stay at the same existing rate. The company added an important caveat: subscribers who decide to cancel their membership and later repurchase it will then be subject to the newly established, higher monthly cost at the point of reactivation.
Technology publication *The Verge* has independently confirmed the authenticity of this email, verifying that it was legitimately issued by Microsoft rather than a third-party source. The decision to postpone increases for these selected countries most likely stems from differences in local consumer protection or subscription pricing regulations, which typically require companies to observe certain notice periods before implementing modifications to recurring billing terms. For instance, in Ireland, the effect of this regulatory framework is quite visible—customers with automatic renewal enabled will continue paying their existing monthly rate of €17.99 rather than the newly proposed figure of €26.99. Microsoft further emphasized in the same communication that these long-term subscribers will be informed at least sixty days in advance of any forthcoming price alteration. Consequently, it is reasonable to expect that these revised rates will not take effect for at least another two months.
This current stance deviates from the company’s previously announced timeline, representing a subtle but noteworthy policy adjustment. Just last week, Dustin Blackwell, Microsoft’s Director of Gaming and Platform Communications, told *The Verge* in an official briefing that the new pricing schedule would commence on October 1st for newly joining members and then extend to existing subscribers during their subsequent billing period—anticipated around November 4th. The altered communication now suggests a staggered rollout where certain regions are temporarily shielded from this cost increase, thereby delaying its overall implementation for active customers.
Despite these changes in selected territories, it appears that the price increases are still very much moving forward for existing subscribers residing in larger markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States. In those regions, customers are expected to encounter the updated pricing in alignment with the company’s previously shared timeline. Requests for further clarification on these regional discrepancies have been sent to Microsoft, and additional information or commentary from the corporation is anticipated. Once Microsoft provides its official statement on the matter, the details of its reasoning and any further adjustments to the rollout schedule are expected to become clearer.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/794032/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-ultimate-price-changes-countries
