Xbox CEO Admits Game Pass Is 'Too Expensive' — Changes Coming
Microsoft's new Xbox boss Asha Sharma admitted in a leaked memo that Game Pass has become too expensive — and a pricing overhaul is on the way.
If you have been feeling the pinch every time your Xbox Game Pass bill comes in, you are not imagining things — and now even Microsoft is admitting it. In a leaked internal memo, Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma told employees that Game Pass has "become too expensive for players" and that the company needs "a better value equation."
The memo, first reported by The Verge, is the clearest sign yet that the subscription's pricing is heading for a shakeup — though exactly what that looks like is still up in the air.
How We Got Here
The frustration is easy to trace. Back in October 2025, Microsoft hiked Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $30 per month — a roughly 50% jump from its previous price. The reason? Call of Duty. Adding Activision's blockbuster franchise to Game Pass at launch was a marquee promise, but it came at a steep cost that ultimately got passed on to subscribers.
For casual players who mostly use Game Pass to dip into a few titles a month, suddenly paying $30 felt like a lot. Plenty of gamers either downgraded their tier or cancelled outright. That churn appears to have caught Microsoft's attention at the highest level.
What Sharma's Memo Actually Says
Sharma, who took over as Microsoft Gaming CEO from Phil Spencer back in February, wrote to staff:
"Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation."
She added that the long-term goal is to evolve Game Pass "into a more flexible system" — though she acknowledged that will "take time to test and learn around." The memo stops well short of announcing a price cut, and Sharma noted she would discuss specifics with the wider team in the coming weeks.
In other words: something is changing, but don't expect an announcement tomorrow.
New Tiers Could Be Coming
The memo aligns neatly with recent datamining discoveries that hinted at two entirely new Game Pass tiers, internally codenamed Triton and Duet. Details are thin, but early strings suggest these tiers would focus on a curated selection of first-party titles — think Halo, Forza, and Microsoft's own studios — rather than the full library that Ultimate subscribers get today.
There's also the possibility of an ad-supported tier, a model borrowed from Netflix and Spotify that could bring the entry price down significantly in exchange for occasional ads. Whether Xbox gamers would accept that trade-off is a very different question.
What This Means for You Right Now
Nothing changes immediately. Microsoft is clearly still figuring out the structure, and Sharma was careful not to over-promise. But a few things are worth keeping in mind:
- If you are on Game Pass Ultimate and feeling overcharged, there may be a cheaper option coming that still covers first-party games.
- A full price rollback is unlikely — but restructuring the tiers could effectively give price-sensitive players a lower entry point.
- The current Game Pass Essential tier at $9.99/month already excludes day-one first-party releases, so any new tier would need to be clearly differentiated to make sense.
The Bigger Picture
Microsoft bet heavily on Game Pass as the future of Xbox. The idea was always to shift from selling individual games to selling access — a Netflix for games. That vision has not gone away, but the pricing execution around the Activision acquisition clearly overshot what the market would bear.
Sharma's leaked admission is, in a weird way, good news. It suggests the new leadership is being realistic about the problem rather than doubling down on a failing price point. Whether the fix is a price cut, smarter tiering, or something more creative, the message to players is clear: Microsoft heard you.
We will keep an eye on any formal announcements as they come. Given that Sharma flagged internal discussions next week, expect something to surface in the coming days.