Microsoft's flagship subscription service is reportedly undergoing its most profound transformation since its launch: Xbox Game Pass is said to be facing a comprehensive restructuring. After the service previously traded Day-One access to Call of Duty for a price reduction, the company now plans to fundamentally break up the entire game subscription concept.

As revealed in a report by the US business magazine Fortune , Xbox head Asha Sharma intends to transform Game Pass from the current fixed-price buffet into a modular 'À la carte' system.

The modular principle: Pay only for what you use

At the core of the planned reform is a departure from the classic all-in-one structure. While Game Pass will continue to be offered in various base tiers, subscribers will in the future be able to selectively choose which add-ons they pay for monthly.

Among the modularly bookable options are:

  • Cloud Gaming: Access to game streams without relying on local hardware.

  • Multiplayer Access: The traditional online multiplayer on consoles.

  • Console-Exclusive Content: Libraries restricted exclusively to Xbox hardware.

The background of this strategy is the effort to keep exploding operating costs under control while simultaneously attracting new target groups. Those who do not use certain features should be able to deselect them, while heavy users will be charged for resource-intensive services like cloud streaming. This modular approach fits seamlessly with Microsoft's recent tests of an ad-supported base tier designed to lower the entry barrier for casual gamers.

The gradual end of the first-party guarantee

Industry observers interpret the restructuring as a precursor to another inevitable step: the final departure from the previous guarantee of offering all in-house Xbox blockbusters on day one without extra charges in the subscription.

Microsoft has hinted at this course change for some time. With so-called Premium Edition Upgrades , the company regularly charges Game Pass users an additional 30 US dollars if they want to play a game early in Early Access—days before the title is normally unlocked in the subscription. A complete departure from day-one releases of first-party games in the basic subscription seems the next logical step to secure the profitability of major in-house productions.

The 35-million plateau forces a rethink

Pressure on the Xbox division is the result of missed growth targets. Leaked internal documents previously showed that Microsoft originally aimed for over 100 million subscribers. In fact, Game Pass growth recently stagnated around 35 million users. The absence of the expected growth has shaken the entire calculus behind Microsoft's current console generation.

The time to implement reforms is pressing: The next big wave of proprietary Xbox heavyweights is scheduled for February 2027 with the release of Fable . It is considered likely that Microsoft will switch Game Pass to the new modular system before this release window to put its flagship subscription on a sustainable foundation for the coming years.