How To Beat Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Price Hike & Lock In The Old Rate
Microsoft caused quite firestorm on social media when it announced a significant price increase for its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier. Effective immediately, the new cost is $29.99 per month, marking a 50% jump compared to the old $19.99 per month rate. There are some additional perks that come with the revamped program, but if you're still put off by the new rate, the good news is there are still ways to get it for $19.99 per month.
Note that Microsoft also increased the price last year, going up from from $16.99 to $19.99 per month, before jacking it up to $29.99 per month currently. That's a tough pill to swallow, even with Microsoft promising "more day one games than ever before," as well as the addition of Fortnite Crew (an $11.99/month value) and Ubisoft+ Classics ($7.99/month value) for the first time ever. Microsoft's also pitching enhanced game streaming quality up to 1440p, a catalog of over 400 games, and more rewards.
"Ultimate subscribers can now earn up to $100 per year (100k points globally) in the Store just by playing games. With our upgraded Rewards program, players can get up to 30% value on select Game Pass games, with 4x points on purchases of games and add-ons, 10% back in points on select Game Pass library titles and add-ons, and up to 20% off select Game Pass games," Microsoft says.
All fine and dandy, but you can get all of those same perks without paying the new price. How so, exactly? Just head to Amazon and stock up on one-month and/or three-month digital vouchers...
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-Month Code: $19.99 at Amazon
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-Month Code: $59.99 at Amazon
The downside is that in order to lock in the old rate, you have to prepay for however many months you are interested in, rather than paying monthly for a recurring subscription billing cycle. You could also buy a new code each month, but there's no guarantee that these codes won't increase in price to align with Microsoft's new pricing.
However, you can stack these codes—Microsoft states in a support article that Game Pass Ultimate "can be extended to a maximum of 36 months in all countries where it's available."
In theory, you could buy more 36 months worth of codes and redeem up to the limit, then redeem a new code every month thereafter until you run out of purchased codes. Microsoft alludes to this in the same support article.
"If you’re attempting to redeem a code or gift card that will extend a subscription beyond its limit, you'll receive a 'Hold off extending this right now' error message and will need to wait until the limit won’t be exceeded," Microsoft says.
We will continue to sell Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $19.99/month in-store and online. pic.twitter.com/EAPGaud7cY
— GameStop (@gamestop) October 1, 2025
While we have no idea how long Amazon will maintain the old rate for these 1-month and 3-month codes, we're cautiously optimistic that they won't disappear over night. If they do, GameStop is another avenue to explore. On X, the games retailer promised to continue selling Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $19.99 per month both online and in-store.
