Xbox Boss Asha Sharma Plans To Review Game Pass Prices: '...Has Become Too Expensive For Players

• Xbox CEO may focus on a shift towards lower costs and more perks towards Game Pass plans

• New leadership evaluates the current program is too expensive for consumers

• Call of Duty may be removed from Game Pass

Conceived by former boss Phil Spencer in 2017, Game Pass has been one of the cornerstones of Xbox's platform, offering a line-up of digital software for members. In October 2025, however, customers saw a 50% price hike in the subscription service that jumped Game Pass Ultimate up to $29.99 a month, quite the extravagant investment. There may be changes coming.

According to a report by The Verge, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma sent a memo to staffers addressing the service needs "a better value equation".

“Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,” Sharma stated in the memo. “Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system, which will take time to test and learn around.”

This memo comes just six months after the price increases. There have also been considerations to consolidate Xbox tiers in an effort to streamline the offerings to consumers. Sharma indicates that it will take some time to consider the options and to iron out any plans to revamp their business options.

Xbox Possibly Removing Call of Duty from Game Pass?

The $75.4 billion dollar purchase of Activision Blizzard from Xbox caused a major shift in the gaming division's operating plans. While fears from the Federal Trade Commission and Sony speculated that it would make an unfair competition field, the massive restructuring of Xbox's bottom line. Call of Duty may be a giant property, Microsoft making it a selling point for Game Pass Ultimate cost the company $300 million in sales, according to Bloomberg. This is something Sharma has acknowledged in the memo, and intend to "go deeper" next week.

In the last year, Xbox has veered away from developing devoted exclusive software on their platform, opting to port games to Nintendo and PlayStation. With a new console in development, and some upcoming titles like the newest Fable, Microsoft has a lot of work to do to re-establish its identity. Spending the last few years focusing on a shift towards third party development has done a lot to instill doubt in consumers.

SOURCES: The Verge, Bloomberg