Microsoft is reportedly planning to let subscribers build their own Game Pass bundle rather than pay for set tiers.
Xbox has been in what seems like a constant state of flux since Asha Sharma took over as CEO in February. The Microsoft gaming division has gone through layoffs, studio sales and tweaks to its core products and services as Sharma has attempted to turn the brand into a viable business, and bigger changes are reportedly on the way. Alongside the possibility that its next-gen Project Helix consoles could start at $1,800, the company is apparently also revamping its Game Pass subscription to make it much more flexible.
Game Pass offers a host of benefits including online multiplayer and a rotating library of games, but Xbox’s next move is reportedly to let subscribers pick and choose the features they want, rather than pay for a preset bundle. The change could make the subscription service more appealing (and affordable) for newcomers and existing customers alike, but it’s not clear if it alone can change the company’s fortunes.
Game Pass’ existing tiers
Following a price hike in 2025, one of the first things Xbox announced after Sharma took control was a price cut to Game Pass Ultimate, its most expensive subscription tier. As of now, the subscription tiers break down as follows:
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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($23/month): A library of over 500 games, day-one releases, bundled Fortnite Crew, EA Play and Ubisoft+ Classics subscriptions, online multiplayer and up to 15 hours of game streaming.
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Xbox Game Pass Premium ($15/month): A library of over 200 games, online multiplayer and up to 10 hours of game streaming.
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Xbox Game Pass Essential ($10/month): A library of over 50 games, online multiplayer and up to five hours of game streaming.
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PC Game Pass ($14/month): A library of over 300 PC games, day-one releases and a bundled EA Play subscription.
Xbox used to let customers pay to play online multiplayer games through an Xbox Live Gold subscription, but it retired that option in 2023 when it folded the benefit into Xbox Game Pass Core, the subscription tier now called Essential.
The (possible) build-your-own Game Pass future
In April, Windows Central reported that Xbox eventually hoped to offer a more flexible version of Game Pass “where users can effectively decide what packages of content they want to see as part of their plan.” For example, the new version of the service could allow you to drop access to bundled subscriptions like Fortnite Crew to lower the price of Game Pass.
The concept sounds nice, but it didn’t really seem like a possibility until Fortune profiled Sharma in October 2026 and reported that Xbox planned to let users pick the features they wanted to include in their subscription:
Xbox is planning a major overhaul of Game Pass that would have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure, according to people familiar with the strategy.
How that will actually work in practice remains to be seen, but Xbox is clearly open to offering customers more ways to pay for its services. The company has started previewing a way for even non-Game Pass subscribers to pay to stream games. Making the rest of the subscription service a series of optional separate payments wouldn’t necessarily make things easier for Xbox owners, but it would give them more control over pricing, which seems like it will be even more important going forward as the cost of games and consoles grows.
