Microsoft has angered gamers with a sharp price hike to its Xbox Game Pass subscription, with its flagship Ultimate tier jumping from A$22.95 to A$35.95 a month – a 50% increase that’s left many fans cancelling in protest.

The restructure, which rolled out this week, sees Game Pass split into three tiers: Essential ($12.95), Premium ($17.95) and Ultimate ($35.95).

Essential now includes more than 50 console and PC games, Premium offers a library of over 200 titles and unlimited cloud streaming, while Ultimate delivers more than 400 games, 75 day-one releases a year, as well as new perks including Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew.

Microsoft argues the added content represents “more flexibility, choice and value” for players, pointing to new additions like Hogwarts Legacy and Assassin’s Creed, as well as Fortnite’s monthly pass and Ubisoft’s catalogue, which it says together add nearly $30 of standalone value. Cloud streaming has also been upgraded to 1440p for Ultimate subscribers.

But the steep price rise has triggered a backlash online.

Angry players flooded social media with screenshots of cancelled accounts, while some reported Microsoft’s cancellation page crashing under the surge.

On Reddit, one post titled “I’m cancelling my subscription” has gained traction, while others called for a coordinated boycott.

Many are arguing the maths no longer stacks up.

At A$35 a month, Ultimate now costs A$420 annually – roughly the price of five full-priced games.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has raised prices this year.

Back in May, the company followed Sony’s lead by lifting prices on Xbox hardware in Australia. It also faced criticism for the $1,599 pricing on its upcoming ROG Ally X handheld.

Despite this, Microsoft says engagement is at record highs, with nearly US$5 billion (A$7.6 billion) in Game Pass revenue reported this year.