Xbox Game Pass is walking back some of its recent changes, suggesting Grand Theft Auto 6 boss Strauss Zelnick was right to steer clear of the service two years ago. In her first days with the company, new Xbox CEO has made some major changes: perhaps most prominently, she announced on X (formerly Twitter) this week that Game Pass was dropping in price, with the Ultimate tier going from a $29.99 monthly subscription to $22.99.
In addition, Xbox is rumored to be exploring the possibility of customizable Game Pass plans, allowing subscribers to pick, choose, and potentially remove less popular services like EA Play, Ubisoft+, Fortnite Crew, and cloud streaming for a lower price. That comes with a catch, though, and it’s one Zelnick saw coming a mile away.
Take-Two’s CEO Called Out Xbox Game Pass
A “Rational Decision”
Way back in August 2024, Xbox’s subscription service was pushing the recently acquired developer Activision to the forefront of its catalogue, announcing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a day-one release for the platform.Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive (which owns publishing houses Rockstar, Zynga, and 2K), gave GamesIndustry.biz a piece of his mind on Game Pass, and he wasn’t optimistic.
“I think that offering a frontline title with a premium price in a subscription service, day and date, will push consumers to that subscription service for at least a period of time,” said Zelnick. But he insisted that the change wouldn’t move the dial on Take-Two’s decision to keep day-one games off of Game Pass, “because our decisions are rational.”
As a caveat to Game Pass’ lower price, Sharma announced, “Future Call of Duty titles will no longer join Game Pass Ultimate on day one. They will join this tier the following holiday after launch (about a year later). Current Call of Duty titles will remain available to Ultimate subscribers.”
So ultimately, Zelnick was right: CoD‘s Game Pass release drove some players to the service for a while, but ultimately, its inclusion wasn’t worth the higher price that choices like this necessitated for Game Pass. Price hikes appear to have driven some Ultimate subscribers away from the service, or slowed subscriber growth to the point that Xbox felt it was time to walk them back. And, like Zelnick predicted, Call of Duty was first on the chopping block.
GTA 6 Doesn’t Need It
Take-Two Anticipates Huge Day-One Sales
There’s another element to Zelnick’s prediction, too: GTA 6 doesn’t really need Game Pass. GamesIndustry.biz notes that GTA 6 is anticipated to be “the biggest entertainment launch in history” — not just in gaming, not just in 2026, but one of the highest-selling and biggest-earning entertainment products of all time.
Unlike the less-established indie games and first-party titles that do well on Game Pass, GTA 6 might actually have more to lose with a day-one Game Pass drop. It’s easily the gaming event of the year, and if its sales projections hold up, it’s virtually guaranteed to make more with a traditional launch.
Zelnick also acknowledged that “there are certain players that are really interested in legacy titles” — Take-Two’s Game Pass catalogue mostly caters to them, with access to GTA 5 still available with your subscription, and likely to remain so for a while. That’s all well and good, but Zelnick says day-one Game Pass releases for established franchises aren’t “rational,” and history appears to have proven him right.
Annual Call of Duty releases aren’t GTA 6, but they are generally big sellers, and, for many subscribers, were the beginning of a dark era for Game Pass, marred by a bloated library, unwanted extras, and ever-inflating prices. Now, Xbox Game Pass is starting to walk some of these changes back, and Grand Theft Auto 6 is gearing up for what might be the biggest traditional video game release ever.
- Number of Devices Concurrently
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Standard subscription plan allows two accounts playing at once, with four accounts playing at once on Friends & Family plan
- Highest Resolution
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1440p streaming
- Number of Accounts
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~35 million subscribers
- Compatibility
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Xbox Series X|S, PC, ROG Xbox Ally, Android, iOS, Samsung & LG TVs, Meta Quest, Web Browser
- Price Per Month
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Essential $9.99 | Premium $14.99 | Ultimate $29.99
- Price per year
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12-month membership codes only available at certain retailers