Updated: 5 October 2026
Xbox Game Pass is heading into one of its most important weeks of 2026. Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6 and arrives day one for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, giving Australians access to one of Xbox’s biggest releases of the year without buying the game separately.
But Xbox Game Pass in Australia is no longer as simple as “pay one subscription and get every big Xbox release.”
Ultimate currently costs A$25.95 a month. Microsoft’s day-one promise now explicitly excludes new Call of Duty titles. And from November, Xbox Cloud Gaming moves to monthly playtime allowances, including 15 hours for Ultimate subscribers.
So with Xbox Game Pass back in the spotlight ahead of E-Day, Australian players have a more useful question to ask than simply what’s being added this month:
Is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate still worth A$25.95 a month in Australia?
Xbox Game Pass Australia prices in 2026
Following Microsoft’s pricing changes earlier this year, the current Australian monthly prices are:
| Xbox Game Pass plan | Australia price | Approx. yearly cost | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | A$12.95/month | A$155.40 | Online multiplayer and a smaller game library |
| Premium | A$17.95/month | A$215.40 | Larger library without needing most games on release day |
| Ultimate | A$25.95/month | A$311.40 | Day-one releases, console + PC, cloud and extra memberships |
| PC Game Pass | A$16.45/month | A$197.40 | PC players who want day-one releases |
Those prices make the value question very different depending on how you actually play.
An Australian keeping Ultimate for an entire year is spending roughly A$311.40. That can still be excellent value for someone who regularly plays new releases and uses the wider library. For somebody who spends months playing one or two purchased games, it is much harder to justify.
Gears of War: E-Day is exactly why Game Pass can still make sense
Microsoft’s strongest argument for Ultimate arrives tomorrow.
Gears of War: E-Day launches worldwide on October 6 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Microsoft confirms it will be available day one through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
The prequel takes Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago back to Emergence Day, 14 years before the original Gears of War. Microsoft says the game has been rebuilt on Unreal Engine 5, with a darker horror-influenced tone, modernised movement and 4K resolution with performance up to 60fps on supported hardware.
For a subscriber who was already planning to play E-Day at launch, this is Game Pass working exactly as originally advertised: a major first-party Xbox game arrives and the subscription immediately gives you access.
And October doesn’t stop there. Microsoft’s latest Game Pass lineup has also included Minecraft Dungeons II, Keeper and other additions around the E-Day launch window.
Then Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 exposes the catch
Just 17 days after E-Day, another enormous Microsoft-owned franchise releases a new game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches October 23 — and it is not included with Game Pass at launch.
Microsoft’s own Australian Game Pass documentation now says that Ultimate and PC Game Pass include selected new games on day one but specifically exclude Call of Duty titles.
That is a major change in how Australian players should think about the service.
Game Pass can still legitimately advertise day-one releases. But “day one” no longer means every major Microsoft-owned game automatically arrives in the subscription.
The contrast this month couldn’t be clearer:
| October release | Release date | Game Pass at launch? |
|---|---|---|
| Gears of War: E-Day | 6 October 2026 | Yes — Ultimate and PC Game Pass |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 | 23 October 2026 | No |
Two of Microsoft’s biggest gaming franchises. Two very different subscription strategies.
What does Xbox Game Pass Ultimate actually include?
Microsoft currently positions Ultimate as its all-in subscription. The Australian service advertises hundreds of games across console, PC and supported devices, selected new releases on day one, online console multiplayer, EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, Fortnite Crew, in-game benefits and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
For players who use several of those benefits, A$25.95 can still add up surprisingly well.
But judging Ultimate purely by the size of the library misses the point. Most people do not play 400 games in a month.
The value comes from whether the handful of games you actually want are included at the moment you want to play them.
E-Day strengthens that argument. Modern Warfare 4 weakens it.
Cloud gaming is also becoming more restricted
There’s another change Australians need to factor into the equation.
Beginning in November, Microsoft is introducing monthly Xbox Cloud Gaming allowances:
- Game Pass Ultimate: 15 hours per month
- Game Pass Premium: 10 hours per month
- Game Pass Essential: 5 hours per month
Microsoft says only around 4% of Game Pass subscribers are expected to be affected, but heavy cloud users will notice the difference immediately.
Once the included hours are exhausted, players will be able to purchase additional cloud time through the Xbox Store. Microsoft has said pricing and further market details will be provided before the system takes effect.
We covered the Xbox Cloud Gaming limits in detail when Microsoft announced them.
For Australians who mainly download games to an Xbox or PC, the limits may make little practical difference. For someone who bought into Microsoft’s “play anywhere” vision and regularly streams games to a phone, tablet, television or older console, they make Ultimate less unlimited than its name suggests.
Is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate worth A$25.95 in Australia?
For frequent players, yes — but increasingly in bursts rather than automatically all year.
That’s the biggest change in the Game Pass value equation.
A player who wants Gears of War: E-Day, regularly samples new games, plays online multiplayer and uses EA Play or the wider catalogue can get substantial value from an Ultimate subscription.
But if there are several months when nothing in the catalogue interests you, leaving the subscription running simply because it might become useful later turns a good-value service into an expensive habit.
At A$25.95 a month, three months of Ultimate costs A$77.85. Six months costs A$155.70. Twelve months reaches A$311.40.
The smarter strategy for many Australian players may therefore be to treat Game Pass more like a rotating entertainment subscription: join when the games you want arrive, play them, then reassess before the next billing cycle.
PC Game Pass may actually be the value winner
For Australians who play exclusively on Windows, PC Game Pass at A$16.45 a month deserves more attention.
It retains access to selected day-one releases, including Gears of War: E-Day, while costing A$9.50 less per month than Ultimate.
Over 12 months, that’s a difference of A$114.
Ultimate makes more sense if you also need console multiplayer, console access, cloud gaming and its additional membership benefits. But a PC-only player paying for Ultimate simply to access the games should check whether those extras are actually being used.
Premium and Essential are different propositions
Game Pass Premium and Essential cost less, but Microsoft deliberately separates them from the day-one proposition.
Premium offers a larger catalogue and says new Xbox-published games can join within one year of launch, excluding Call of Duty titles. Essential provides a smaller catalogue alongside online console multiplayer and other benefits.
That makes Essential easier to understand: it is the cheaper choice for someone whose main requirement is console multiplayer plus a bonus library.
Premium sits in the middle for players willing to wait for newer Xbox releases rather than paying Ultimate prices to access them immediately.
Game Pass is still good — but you have to pay attention now
Xbox Game Pass built much of its reputation on simplicity.
Subscribe, open the library and play.
In 2026, the service requires more homework.
There are multiple tiers. Day-one access depends on the plan. Call of Duty is specifically excluded. Cloud gaming is getting monthly limits. Some Xbox-published games can take up to a year to reach Premium.
None of that makes Game Pass a bad deal.
In fact, the arrival of Gears of War: E-Day demonstrates why the service can still be one of the best-value ways to play a major new release.
But Australians should stop asking whether Xbox Game Pass is “good value” in the abstract.
The better question is whether this month’s Game Pass library is worth A$25.95 to you.
In October, with E-Day arriving tomorrow, the answer for a lot of Xbox players will probably be yes.
Come November, it is worth asking the question again.
For more on Microsoft’s wider gaming strategy, see our Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2026 roundup.
Sources: Xbox Australia, Xbox Wire and current Australian Game Pass pricing checked 5 October 2026. Game libraries, prices and subscription benefits can change. Featured image: Javier Martínez / Unsplash.
