Microsoft are reshuffling their Xbox Game Pass subscription tiers and hiking the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass in certain regions. PC Game Pass subscriptions are going up from $11.99 to $16.49 monthly - around 40 percent higher. Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass Core is being rebranded to Xbox Game Pass Essential ($9.99/month, around 50 games), and the Standard plan is now Xbox Game Pass Premium ($14.99/month, around 200 games). "The only change happening for PC Game Pass subscribers is that they won’t be getting Ubisoft Plus Classics, but they’ll be getting about 50 additional Ubisoft titles across PC Game Pass," Blackwell told the Verge. As Eurogamer note, Microsoft's Game Pass price hikes come in the wake of both record returns and mass layoffs.