Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has revealed that Microsoft's gaming division plans to introduce a more flexible Xbox Game Pass Offers to better accommodate different types of players. Sharma first made headlines in April 2026 when he slashed Xbox Game Pass subscription prices, a move that was generally well-received by gamers. However, the price cut came with a significant tradeoff, viz Call of Duty Titles will no longer be included as day one releases on the service.
Xbox Game Pass currently offers four subscription options: Ultimate, Premium, Essential, and a PC-exclusive tier. Essential is the most affordable plan at $9.99 per month, while Ultimate is the most expensive at $22.99 per month. Recently, several rumors have suggested that additional plans and membership tiers may be added to the lineup. And Sharma's latest comments may lend more credence to those reports.
Xbox reveals huge number of Game Pass subscriptions lost after 2025 price hike
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Xbox CEO hints at new Game Pass offerings coming this summer
“We will be working harder this summer to create more flexible offerings that cater to the needs of all types of players,” Asha Sharma said in a recent interview with YouTube channel Fortune Conversations. The new Xbox CEO did not elaborate on what these proposals might entail for the future of Xbox Game Pass. However, many interpreted his comments as a hint at new membership tiers, potentially similar to the rumored Game Pass Starter Edition, which is said to be a low-cost tier bundled with Discord Nitro. For now, though, these reports remain unconfirmed, and it's unclear what the upcoming flexible offers will look like.
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Based on Sharma's comments, Game Pass may not be the only part of Microsoft's gaming business for changes in the near future. She said the company will also continue to explore new business models for the Xbox console, arguing that the industry needs more than just providing the most premium, high-performance console.
Sharma also noted that it's getting harder to imagine a mass-market audience spending thousands of dollars on a single console generation, suggesting the gaming industry could see “radically different business models” emerge this year. His comments take on added significance given that Microsoft has already confirmed it is working on the next generation of its Xbox console, currently codenamed Project Helix.
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Sharma also reiterated her comments regarding previous price hikes for Xbox Game Pass, saying the service “has become essential in general.” She added that Xbox “has been able to see a return to growth in Game Pass,” a claim echoed in a recent memo sent to Team Xbox employees. In the memo, Sharma wrote, “Our Game Pass team began working to fix our offering, and after 8+ months of decline, our service is starting to grow again.”
However, Sharma's plans for the future of Xbox, also outlined in the memo, suggest that layoffs may be on the horizon for Microsoft's gaming division. He noted that the division has spent more than $20 billion in ongoing investments over the past five years, while annual revenue has declined by nearly half a billion dollars. That said, one encouraging takeaway from Sharma's comments is his assertion that “Game Pass is at the heart of gaming,” suggesting that Microsoft is committed to the subscription service and likely to continue investing in the future.
