Rumours suggest Game Pass could lose some of the perks players have come to expect from a single subscription.
Xbox Game Pass could reportedly be heading for a major overhaul in 2027, with a new rumour claiming Microsoft plans to split several of the service's current perks into separate subscriptions and add-ons.
The alleged changes first surfaced on 14 September, when ResetEra user Slayven shared details of the supposed plans, citing a source they claimed had been "right in the past". The details remain unconfirmed, but Microsoft has now responded to the rumour without directly ruling out the reported overhaul.
What are the rumoured Xbox Game Pass changes for 2027?
Under the alleged plans, Game Pass would be split into two main tiers: an ad-supported option priced at US$13 per month and an ad-free version at US$20 per month, or US$240 annually.
The ad-free tier would reportedly cost US$3 less than the current Game Pass Ultimate price because access to new games on day one would no longer be included as one of its perks. Cloud gaming would also reportedly be removed from Game Pass entirely and instead offered as a US$6 monthly add-on, capped at 25 hours of streaming each month.
Meanwhile, online multiplayer could become its own US$11 monthly subscription, while a family plan would reportedly cost another US$6 per month. If accurate, the changes would represent a sizeable shift from the current Game Pass model, where Ultimate bundles new releases, online multiplayer, and cloud gaming under one subscription.
Is Xbox removing day-one games from Game Pass?
Xbox has not confirmed that day-one releases are being removed from Game Pass, but its response to the rumour leaves the possibility open.
In response to a request for comment from Forbes, Xbox said in a statement shared by the outlet: "We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets. We don’t have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalised. There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one."
That wording guarantees that games already announced for a day-one Game Pass Ultimate release will still arrive as planned, but stops short of saying the perk itself is here to stay. That distinction matters because Xbox already has some games promised for Game Pass in 2027. The upcoming Fable reboot is currently scheduled for February with a day-one Game Pass release, while InXile's Clockwork Revolution is also set to join the service on day one sometime in 2027. In other words, Xbox's statement protects those existing commitments, but does not rule out changes to how day-one releases work after them.
With 2027 releases already carrying Game Pass promises, Xbox will eventually need to spell out what subscribers are actually paying for next year. Until then, its response leaves plenty of unanswered questions around what Game Pass will look like beyond those existing commitments.
