It was a question of when Microsoft would be a price increase for Game Pass. Well, it has finally happened – Microsoft is officially raising the subscription price for both Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. In addition, they’re also introducing a ‘new’ tier (though it looks to be a replacement) for select countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and India.
As the PC based subscription service is more widely available compared to the Xbox version (due to availability of Xbox Live multiplayer) across the MENA region, there is also a bit of confusion on some of the benefits as well.
PC Game Pass increases everywhere
This one is going to be quite a comprehensive coverage of the pricing changes for both PC and Xbox users Game Pass across MENA region and India, as it’s happening worldwide. Luckily, Microsoft published a pricing change doc for all markets but I’ve filtered it down to the MENA region and India.
PC Game Pass has a wider geographic availability and a quick glance shows price increases by 20%-30% (few are even 2x due to currency devaluation).
| Country | Previous Price | New Price |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco | MAD 50 | MAD 60 |
| Algeria | DZD 900 | DZD 1080 |
| Egypt | EGP 90 | EGP 190 |
| Libya | USD 5.99 | USD 6.99 |
| Tunisia | TND 19.99 | TND 23.99 |
| UAE | USD 6.99 | USD 8.99 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 29.99 | SAR 35.99 |
| Qatar | QAR 25 | QAR 30 |
| Kuwait | KWD 2.25 | KWD 2.75 |
| Oman | OMR 2.99 | OMR 3.5 |
| Bahrain | BHD 2.99 | BHD 3.5 |
| Turkey | TRY 159 | TRY 209 |
| India | INR 349 | INR 449 |
If there is one thing that PC Game Pass members can rest on, they’ll still get access to Day One releases from Microsoft’s first party studios (hint: the next Call of Duty is coming to the service on release day).
Part of me still wishes that they have a 12-month option as well for PC users.
Ultimate and Core changes
Delving a bit deeper towards some fo the tiers, Ultimate sees an increase for the monthly rate.
| Country | Current | New |
|---|---|---|
| India | INR 549 | INR 829 |
| Turkey | TRY 209 | TRY 309 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 44.99 | SAR 52.99 |
| UAE | USD 11.99 | USD 13.99 |
Xbox Game Pass Core, which was released last year in Q3 2023, sees a price increase across for different time periods only for the below markets.
| Country | 1 month | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | N/A | N/A | INR 749 (INR 1799) | INR 1999 (INR 3349) |
| Turkey | TRY 159 (TRY 175) | TRY 399 TRY (439) | TRY 639 (TRY 699) | TRY 959 (TRY 1399) |
| UAE | N/A | N/A | N/A | USD 39.99 USD 59.99 |
| Saudi Arabia | N/A | N/A | N/A | SAR 179 SAR 229 |
Another tier
If the pricing changes has brought you this far, there’s also a new subscription tier replacing an existing Console tier. Dubbed the ‘Standard’ tier, it will launch in the coming months. Think of it as taking the Core option, expanding the library of games to 100+ and has online console multiplayer. Pricing for it will be revealed at a later date, but expect it to be slightly higher. However it won’t have the following perks
- No day one releases (though they’ll come after a longer time period)
- No access to EA Play
- No access to Xbox Cloud Gaming (exclusive to Ultimate)
If you’re signing up to either one for the first time, the new pricing is already effective for MENA-based and India-based users. From 12th September 2024 onwards, the new pricing will apply to existing users with subscriptions.
Image Credit: Xbox
