Another insider claims a new Xbox Game Pass tier is going to be added, thanks to Call of Duty – WGB

Just last week, Rand Al Thor appeared alongside Jez Corden of Window’s Central on the Xbox Two podcast. The discussion covered many things, but most notably Rand Al Thor, who doesn’t usually leak information, mentioned that he had hear rumours that a Game Pass price hike is coming, along with a new tier.

“I think Tom (Warren) is reporting that there are price hikes coming for game pass, and I believe him and that actually is happening. I’ve even heard that there is a new tier of game pass coming […] but I have no idea what is involved, what it would be, or what it is. Pretty sure it’s happening. Don’t know anything about it, though” said Rand Al Thor.

His comments were made as part of a conversation regarding Tom Warren of the Verge mentioning a planned Game Pass price increase as well. Tom Warren has been a very reliable source, although admittedly a price increase of a subscription service is a fairly safe bet.

Now, another insider has come forward to share what they know, and it matches up with what Tom Warren and Rand Al Thor have said.

eXtas1s is a Spanish insider that seems to have insight into Xbox specifically and writes for Exputer. He doesn’t tend to offer up information too often, and has typically been correct when he does. He leaked the existence of the white Series X, for example, and even had pictures of it.

He tweeted out the following, which has been translated from Spanish using Google translate: “We can assure you that changes are coming to the Xbox Game Pass Tiers mainly due to Call Of Duty. There are still things to confirm, but I hope to report back soon.”

The tweet he’s seen quoting is in regards to a new report from The Wall Street Journal in which it is claimed that Microsoft has finally made the decision to put Call of Duty on Game Pass going forward, something which has apparently been in limbo despite what Xbox has said publicly.

According to eXta1s, the new tier of Game Pass will be introduced because of Call of Duty. Does this indicate Xbox intends on creating a new, more expensive tier that includes Call of Duty? Or might it still be the previously rumoured cheaper, ad-supported tier? Either way, another tier would bring the total count to 5.

Just an idle thought here: could it be a sort of Game Pass “expansion pack” situation where you pay an extra £2-5 per month on top of your current tier to unlock Call of Duty?

Other online speculation includes a new tier higher than “Ultimate” which includes all the 1st party Xbox titles, whereas the other tiers are only for 3rd party content. That seems unlikely though, because it would fly in the face of how Xbox has marketed Game Pass, essentially stripping away the service’s biggest selling point. It would be an admission that Game Pass simply can’t work in its current state, and I don’t think Xbox is willing to admit that just yet as Game Pass is the only big thing the brand has going for it.