After prices reached absurd levels over the last two years, new Xbox boss Asha Sharma has decided that Xbox Game Pass cannot continue in its current form. Effective immediately, the tiers have undergone a major price cut everywhere, including South Africa. Only the Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers are affected.
The Ultimate sacrifice?
It’s not without some sacrifice. One of the biggest draws to the affected tiers was its promise to secure some of the biggest games on the service on the day of their release. Call of Duty was one of those, inviting customers to spend their bucks on the subscription rather than the game itself. That may seem like a bad business decision — and it was — so that won’t be the case any longer. Instead, fresh Call of Duty titles will land a year after release.
That seems a fair trade for knocking a few (or more, in the case of Ultimate) bucks off the price. After the price cuts, no Game Pass tier crosses the R250/m mark. That’s a big change, seeing as Ultimate previously charged South Africans R350/m for access to a catalogue of games and other online features.
Starting today, a PC Game Pass subscription will set gamers back R210/m, down from R250/m. Game Pass Ultimate, on the other hand, has seen a far larger R110 cut, pricing the service at R240/m. While Xbox confirmed that Call of Duty wouldn’t see a day-one release on Game Pass, it didn’t mention any other IPs being culled.
“Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will continue to have access to hundreds of games on Xbox console and PC including current Call of Duty titles, in-game benefits, online console multiplayer, unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming, and major day one releases,” the company said.
That means subscribers can still expect to see other big-name releases hit the service on release day. Ultimate gamers have seen games like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Indiana Jones, Starfield, and The Outer Worlds 2 (plus many more) land day one. Assuming no further changes, there’s still a level of quality to be had.
What you’ll pay for Xbox Game Pass in South Africa:
- Xbox Game Pass Essential – R140/m
- Xbox Game Pass Premium – R200/m
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – R240/m (was R350)
- Xbox PC Game Pass – R210/m (was R250)
