Game On: Xbox hikes Game Pass Ultimate price by 50%

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: This week’s most notable new game release is Electronic Arts’ (EA) multipler shooter “Battlefield 6,” which launches for PlayStation 5 (SONY), Xbox Series X/S (MSFT), and PC on October 10.

GAME PASS: Last week, Microsoft introduced three updated Game Pass plans, naming them Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. “Ultimate has been upgraded for players who want the best of everything,” the company said. “We’re rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet, including more day one games than ever before, Fortnite Crew & Ubisoft+ Classics for the first time ever, enhanced Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality up to 1440p, Rewards with Xbox, and more. Now players can have it all.” Ultimate subscribers will have access to “Fortnite Crew,” as well as Ubisoft+ (UBSFY) Classics, with the price going up to $29.99 per month from $19.99. Meanwhile, Game Pass Premium will have more available games than the previous Game Pass Standard tier, with the price remaining at $14.99 a month. Additionally, Xbox Game Pass Core is being rebranded as Game Pass Essential, the lowest tier for “players who want the essence of everything Xbox.” Core subscribers will be upgraded to Essential remaining at $9.99 per month.

Following the announcement, The Verge’s Tom Warren reported that Microsoft is preparing to announce an ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming and has started testing ad-supported video game streaming internally, letting staff play certain games for free without a subscription to Game Pass. The ad-supported tier would include the option to stream some games the user already owns, as well as eligible Free Play Days titles and Xbox Retro Classics games, the author noted. Sources also told Warren that internal testing includes roughly two minutes of preroll ads before a game is available to stream.

Meanwhile, in response to rumors of the company’s exit from Xbox gaming hardware, Microsoft provided a statement to (AMD).”

Click here to check out recent Media Buzz Sentiment on Microsoft as measured by TipRanks.

EA SPORTS/ATHLETIC: Electronic Arts (NYT) The Athletic to “reimagine sports content for the next generation of fans worldwide.” Fans can now get stats, scores and breaking news, combined with editorial and video coverage from The Athletic, directly through the EA Sports App, the companies announced. “This strategic partnership with EA Sports accelerates our ability to reach future subscribers and grow The Athletic’s global footprint. EA Sports is the perfect partner to help us connect with younger fans and deliver a new kind of editorial experience through the EA Sports App. While we’re starting with editorial, we see this as just the beginning of what our two brands can deliver to fans together,” said Sebastian Tomich, Chief Commercial Officer at The Athletic.

MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:

• Sony’s “Ghost of Yotei” reached the top spot in terms of U.K. boxed sales last week, The Game Business’ Christopher Dring reports
• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Take-Two (TTWO) to $277 from $270
• Unity (U) disclosed a security vulnerability on versions 2017.1 and later