Xbox Game Pass Could Go Ala Carte, Says Report

What if you could build your own Game Pass subscription, picking only the features you actually use? That's the idea behind a reported plan from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who is said to be considering a major pricing overhaul for Game Pass that would let you pay for add-ons "ala carte."

According to a new report from Fortune (paywalled), Sharma sat down for an exhaustive conversation about her plan to make Xbox "the No. 1 entertainment company." Part of that plan involves a multi-stage downsizing that will see 3,200 jobs cut by the end of the 2027 fiscal year. It also includes the new Project Helix home console, reportedly due for the 2028 holiday season and potentially costing as much as $1800, plus a handheld system expected in 2027.

But the part that affects your wallet directly is the reported Game Pass change. Right now, you pick from pre-determined tiers with different features based on price. Under the new plan, Sharma and co. are reportedly hatching a system where you'd pay for add-ons separately for things like cloud gaming, multiplayer, and console-only games.

So in theory, you could subscribe to the cheapest plan with the fewest benefits and still tack on the features that matter to you for an additional monthly charge. Want day one releases but don't care about online multiplayer? You might be able to save a few bucks by opting out of the stuff you don't use.

It's worth stressing that this is all far from confirmed and heavily dependent on pricing specifics. The report doesn't give exact numbers, so we don't know how consumer-friendly this potentially revised Game Pass plan will be in the end.

Still, the idea has some appeal. If you could save a few dollars by skipping cloud gaming and multiplayer, and just add on benefits like day one releases, that could increase the value proposition enough to resubscribe. But again, it's way too early to say how it'll all shake out.

What do you think of an ala carte Game Pass? Would you build your own subscription, or do you prefer the current tier system? Let us know in the comments!