It’s been a great year for Xbox Game Pass holders, and despite some drawbacks when it comes to price changes, it’s not ‘too’ bad. On the bright side, there are fresh reports coming in that Xbox Game Pass could soon offer an “à la carte” sort of feature where you pay for what you want.
Xbox Game Pass Is Changing to an À La Carte Style Subscription Model
In a Fortune interview with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posted on October 20, 2026, it was revealed that Xbox is seemingly planning to overhaul certain aspects of Game Pass. “Xbox is planning a major overhaul of Game Pass that would have players choose features à la carte,” Fortune wrote.
Although we don’t have a direct quote from Asha Sharma herself, if interpreted correctly, this would mean that players would get to choose what they want; they’d only pay for features they use or need. With Xbox Game Pass reportedly losing millions of subscribers in recent times, this could be the win that the company has sorely needed.
In the interview with Fortune, it was also mentioned that the “à la carte” type of system would allow it to cover all aspects of the Xbox Game Pass. Fortune continues by saying, “Including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure, according to people familiar with the strategy.”
Based on what we know thus far, it seems that the reports about Xbox Game Pass removing day-one games could be true after all. Those who still want the feature could use the new “à la carte” system to purchase it as an add-on for themselves.
In a way, this makes sense as the base price of Xbox Game Pass could drop by $3 next year, as reported earlier. By the looks of things and from Fortune’s statement, the Xbox Game Pass could become something of a dynamic DLC.
Once the base product is purchased, users can choose what they want or don’t want to be part of it. In a way, they’ve already started testing this system by putting monthly limits on Xbox Game Pass Cloud Gaming. When the stipulated ‘free’ hours are over, users need to buy more to continue using cloud services.
It’s left to be seen how these changes affect players and whether or not they are in favor of it. As the saying goes, “It’s better to have and not need than to want and not have.” If Xbox Game Pass is changing into an “à la carte” system, we can assume a lot of features are going to be cut, removed, or at least limited.
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