Xbox is also raising prices for its Game Pass subscriptions as the Microsoft-owned publisher follows competitors in making their top services more premium.
Starting July 10, new Xbox Game Pass console players in the US will be charged $20 per month, or $75 per year, for the Game Pass Ultimate subscription, a $3 increase from its previous fee.
US PC players will also feel these price hikes as Xbox raises the subscription fee for its PC Game Pass from $9.99 to $11.99. Existing Game Pass accounts will feel the price change starting Sept. 12.
The price increase will vary among countries per the fee raise graph Microsoft released on Tuesday.
The price hike came just a little over a year after Xbox increased its Game Pass Ultimate subscription fees by $1 - $2 per month as it poses to charge customers $70 for its AAA titles.
Notably, the price increase rolled out came just a few months before Xbox added its upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a day-one release for Game Pass subscribers.
Xbox Offers New 'Standard' Tier for Game Pass Subscribers
To encourage players to keep their Game Pass subscriptions, Xbox is offering people a much cheaper "standard" subscription tier.
For one, the new Standard Game Pass will not have exclusive day-one release access to new games. Players also have to pay for their EA Play Membership separately.
The service will also be limited to consoles, unlike the Ultimate subscription that can access Xbox's cloud server, although it will still allow players to have the online multiplayer option.
Microsoft has yet to release price information on the new Standard tier.
More Game Live Services Issue Price Hikes
The price hike in Xbox Game Pass follows a growing trend of subscription fee increases in game-related live services.
Xbox's biggest competitor PlayStation previously faced customer backlash after issuing similar price hikes for its PS Plus subscriptions last September, prompting Sony to defend the decision as a way for the company to "adjust" to market conditions.
The company is expected to roll out another price increase sometime this year, in time with the fee rate hike for other subscription services like Netflix and Disney+.
Only the Nintendo Switch Online live service has not raised its prices since it was first launched in 2018.
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