Xbox Game Pass rumor about 2027: Xbox responds without confirming
In brief
- Kotaku says Xbox responded to a rumor about a possible Game Pass overhaul in 2027, but did not confirm claims about prices, ads, or day-one games.
- The rumor, circulating via ResetEra user Slayven, mentions an ad-supported tier at $13 per month, an ad-free tier at $20 per month, and the removal of day-one games as a perk.
- The same speculation also mentions cloud streaming as a $6 add-on, a family plan for an extra $6, and a separate multiplayer subscription at $11 per month.
What happened
Kotaku wrote on September 14, 2026, about an online rumor that Xbox was considering major changes to Game Pass in 2027. According to the site, Xbox responded to the speculation, but without clearly confirming or explicitly denying the claims.
The rumors were linked to ResetEra user Slayven, who reportedly said he knew the source and that the source had been right before. The alleged plans describe a split in Game Pass with one version that includes ads and another that does not.
In the leaked version of the story, the ad-supported tier would cost $13 per month, while the ad-free tier would cost $20 per month, or $240 per year. That more expensive tier would reportedly be $3 cheaper than Game Pass Ultimate because day-one releases would no longer be included.
The rumor also says cloud streaming would no longer be included by default in Game Pass, but instead sold as a separate $6-per-month add-on with a 25-hour monthly limit. A family plan for an extra $6 and a separate online multiplayer subscription for $11 per month are also mentioned in the same speculation.
Timeline
2026-09-14: Kotaku publishes a report about rumors that Game Pass could change in 2027, including possible price changes, ads, and the removal of day-one games.
2026-09-14: The same report says Xbox responded to the rumors, but did not explicitly confirm or deny the plans.
2026-09-15: The topic continues circulating in discussion, with references to Paul Tassi's tweet stressing that these are still rumors.
2027: The year when the alleged Game Pass overhaul would supposedly take effect, according to the rumor.
Background
The discussion centers on Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service for Xbox and PC. The key point is not that the changes have been announced, but that Xbox responded to the rumors without firmly confirming their contents.
Paul Tassi wrote in an embedded tweet that the reported changes are still only rumors, and that NateTheHate sees Slayven as someone who knows a source with clear Xbox knowledge. That tweet does not change the status of the claims themselves: they remain unverified.