Xbox Game Pass Ad-Supported Tier Could be Next, Niko Partners Analyst Says - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 October 2025 / 4,495 Views
Microsoft this week announced a range of changes to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service that include the Ultimate tier seeing a price increase from $20 per month to $30 per month, a 50 percent increase.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad states that Microsoft is betting console players will remain loyal to Game Pass Ultimate at the higher price, while it ramps up growth on PC, PS5, and Switch 2 with day one and late ports that are at full price.
"The primary concern for Xbox at this time is managing the transition from a closed console based ecosystem to an open multi-device ecosystem," said Ahmad (via GameSpot).
"Console sales have dropped considerably, PC Game Pass uptake has been slow, and cloud is still seen as an extension of existing play, rather than a primary entry point.
"The bet that Microsoft is making here is that its existing console base remains loyal to Game Pass at higher prices (or current prices with Premium), while it looks to ramp up growth on PC, PS5 and Switch 2 via day one / late ports that are fully priced."
Ahmad can see Microsoft making more changes to Xbox Game Pass in the future with a cloud only tier, ad-supported tier, or mobile offerings.
"The big question going forward is if Game Pass can be a sustainable product off console and how best they can reach this audience," he said. "At the very least that's going to require a lower entry cost (Essential) and experimentation with cloud only, ad supported, or mobile first offerings."
Game Pass Essential and Game Pass Premium do offer more benefits than before at the same price as they now include PC games and Xbox Cloud Gaming. PC Game Pass, which includes day one games, also saw a price increase from $12 per month to $16.50 per month.
The higher price in the Ultimate tier does include some new content like Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew, however, fans are not happy as many have stated they won't be taking advantage of the new content.
Several retailers - GameStop, Amazon, Target, Best Buy - are still selling Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the lower price of $20 for per month or $60 for three months. It is possible to stack up to three years of a Game Pass subscription.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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At this point I just hope Xbox gets spinned off with new ownership or just gets closed completely.
Ads are everywhere.
It's baffling how they can't just keep them out of their UI and GP.
As if it's prohibited by a law of Nature or something.
Who doesn't want to sit through 4minuets of Ads running, every 2hours of gameplay or so ?
Free WC break time :P But honestly if it could cut a few $ off of gamepass, I suspect quite a few would be okay with that.
It depends how much it cuts off the price. If all the current tiers get an ad version that is say half the price than sure I see it doing well.
Essential - $10 no ads - $5 with ads
Premium - $15 no ads - $8 with ads
Ultimate - $30 no ads - $15 with ads ($20 is probably more realistic)
This also depends on how the ads are. Are we talking 3 or 4 minutes of ads when you start a session and that is it? Or are we talking every hour there will be more ads? I'm not even sure how that would work with online multiplayer that can't be paused. Run ads between games?
It an american corps, they love ads and there loyal "fans" loves wasting time watching ads, surprise this haven't been done decades ago!! Now here's hoping apple is next
