Xbox Game Pass Could Go Pick-Your-Own, New Report Says

Xbox Game Pass is heading for another big shake-up, according to Windows Central’s Jez Corden. Microsoft has already cut the Ultimate tier from $30 to $23, but that cheaper price now comes without day-one Call of Duty releases, and Corden says the next step could be a more flexible subscription model built around the parts players actually want. For anyone who only uses a few Game Pass perks, that could finally make the service feel less bloated and less expensive.

The report ties the rumored changes to Microsoft’s recent pricing move and to leaked “Duet” and “Triton” codenames found in Xbox Game Pass back-end APIs. Corden says the plan could let users build their own packages, with different add-ons changing the final price. That matters because Game Pass has spent the last few years getting more expensive and more complicated, and players have felt that in the wallet.

CoD Farming

Microsoft announced the Ultimate tier price drop yesterday, and the catch is clear: the package no longer includes any day-one Call of Duty releases. That’s a major shift for subscribers who treated Game Pass as the easiest way to keep up with new Microsoft releases, especially anyone who signed up around Call of Duty. For everyone else, the cut lands differently, because it removes one of the biggest reasons to pay for the top tier.

That move also gives Microsoft room to rethink what Game Pass actually is. The source says the service had two price increases in 2023, then hit another dramatic price hike in 2025 that raised the cost by 50 percent overnight. It also says mid-2024 brought new, confusing tiers and pricing structures that reduced the quality of the service at lower price points, which helps explain why a lot of players now see the current model as messy rather than generous.

Corden’s report suggests Microsoft may be reacting to that backlash by making the service more modular. He describes the rumored system as “more flexible” and says it would be one “where users can effectively decide what packages of content they want to see as part of their plan.” That would let players trim away things they don’t use, but it could also let Microsoft keep slicing the service into smaller paid pieces if it wants to push prices back up later.

• Ultimate tier price: $30 to $23
• Ultimate tier no longer includes day-one Call of Duty releases
• 2025 price hike: 50 percent
• Two price increases in 2023

Pick-Your-Own

The rumored future version of Game Pass sounds a lot closer to Amazon Prime Video than to the current all-in-one bundle. Corden compares it to a setup where players pay for a base service and then add extras, much like Prime users can tack on MGM+, Shudder, or Discovery. That approach would make Game Pass feel more personal, and it would also make the price easier to justify for players who only want a slice of the full package.

According to the report, Microsoft has leaked “Duet” and “Triton” codenames for Xbox Game Pass through its back-end APIs, which suggests packages of services are part of the plan. The source says players could remove Xbox Cloud Gaming to lower the price, or ditch Fortnite Crew and instead add day-one Xbox games. It also says Microsoft could let users roll in World of Warcraft subscriptions, Minecraft Realms subscriptions, Netflix, or the Xbox Game Pass Family Plan.

Microsoft has leaked “Duet” and “Triton” codenames for Xbox Game Pass via its back-end APIs recently, suggesting that packages of services are in the plan’s future. Don’t want Xbox Cloud Gaming ? Remove it and lower the price. No need for Fortnite Crew? Ditch it and add day one Xbox games. Perhaps you can roll in World of Warcraft or Minecraft Realms subscriptions instead, or even other benefits like Netflix, per rumors , or the long-awaited Xbox Game Pass Family Plan.

That same logic extends to the current Premium pack, which the source says includes a 200+ catalog of games and new Xbox-published games within a year of release. Microsoft could keep that base package intact and let players add day-one releases, Fortnite Crew, EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, and other benefits on top. For the right customer, that’s a smart move, because it stops forcing everyone to pay for the same bundle whether they want it or not.

Still, this could go badly if Microsoft uses modular pricing as a way to nickel-and-dime people. The source warns that the company could break the Ultimate tier into pieces and make the rebuilt version cost more, or keep peeling features away whenever it wants a boost. That’s the risk here: a flexible plan could become a fairer one, but it could just as easily become a more expensive menu with better branding.

What This Means for Players

For players, the best-case version of this rumor is obvious. If you don’t care about Call of Duty, Fortnite Crew, or Xbox Cloud Gaming, a pick-and-choose Game Pass could finally stop charging you for baggage you never use. If you do want everything, Microsoft could still offer an all-in bundle, but the real value would come from letting everyone else tailor the plan to their habits instead of forcing them into one oversized subscription.

That said, Microsoft has earned the skepticism here. The company has already pushed Game Pass through two price increases in 2023, a 50 percent jump in 2025, and a round of confusing tier changes in mid-2024, so players have good reason to wonder whether “more flexible” just means “more ways to charge you.” Even so, the idea itself makes sense, and the comparison to Prime-style add-ons gives it a shape that players can actually understand.

For now, this all sits in rumor territory, but the leaked “Duet” and “Triton” codenames make the idea harder to dismiss. If Microsoft really is preparing a pick-your-own Game Pass, the next question is whether it uses that model to repair trust or just to repackage the same frustrations in a cleaner interface. Either way, players should keep an eye on how Microsoft prices the pieces, because that will tell us whether this becomes a better deal or just a more complicated one.