Xbox Game Pass may let subscribers choose features à la carte, Engadget reports

According to the report, the plan would use a tiered structure with optional add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer, citing people familiar with the strategy. Engadget said it remained unclear how the system would work in practice. The report follows an April report from Windows Central that Xbox hoped to offer a more flexible version of Game Pass in which users could decide which content packages they wanted in their plan.

Game Pass currently comes in four tiers. Ultimate costs $23 a month and includes more than 500 games, day-one releases, bundled Fortnite Crew, EA Play and Ubisoft+ Classics subscriptions, online multiplayer and up to 15 hours of game streaming. Premium costs $15 a month for more than 200 games, online multiplayer and up to 10 hours of streaming; Essential costs $10 a month for more than 50 games, online multiplayer and up to five hours of streaming; PC Game Pass costs $14 a month for more than 300 PC games, day-one releases and an EA Play subscription. Xbox retired Xbox Live Gold in 2023 and folded online multiplayer into Game Pass Core, the tier now called Essential.

Xbox has been in flux since Asha Sharma became CEO in February, with layoffs, studio sales and changes to core products and services. After a price increase in 2025, Xbox announced a price cut to Game Pass Ultimate after Sharma took control. The company has also started previewing a way for non-Game Pass subscribers to pay to stream games. Engadget reported that the next-generation Project Helix consoles could start at $1,800.

Fortune reported in October 2026, in a profile of Sharma, that Xbox planned the à la carte overhaul. Engadget said it was unclear whether the change alone could alter the company’s fortunes.