Xbox Game Pass Ultimate did rise by CAD $11 in Canada, from CAD $22.99 to CAD $33.99 per month in October 2025. Xbox later reduced the rate: the Canadian price is now CAD $25.99 per month, effective April 22, 2026. That leaves Ultimate CAD $2.99 above its pre-increase price, rather than CAD $11 higher.
What happened to the Canadian price?
The October 2025 increase moved Ultimate from CAD $22.99 to CAD $33.99 per month. TVA Nouvelles reported both figures in its 2026 account of Microsoft’s Canadian pricing history; the CAD $11 change is the difference between those published prices.
Microsoft subsequently changed the Canadian rate again. Xbox Canada’s current product page lists Ultimate at CAD $25.99 per month, with that lower price applying from April 22, 2026. Compared with the old CAD $22.99 rate, the present price is CAD $2.99 higher.
| Period | Canadian Ultimate price | Change from previous rate |
|---|---|---|
| Before October 2025 | CAD $22.99/month | — |
| October 2025 increase | CAD $33.99/month | +CAD $11 |
| From April 22, 2026 | CAD $25.99/month | −CAD $8 from the October rate; +CAD $2.99 from the old rate |
So the headline-sized increase was real, but it was not permanent at its full amount.
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- 1TB CUSTOM SSD AND XBOX VELOCITY ARCHITECTURE — Reduce load times dramatically with the custom 1TB NVMe SSD and XBOX Velocity Architecture, enabling lightning-fast performance and seamless world streaming.
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- FOUR GENERATIONS OF GAMES — Play thousands of games from XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, XBOX 360, and Original XBOX, with many titles enhanced for better visuals and performance on XBOX Series X.
What Ultimate includes now
Xbox Canada lists Ultimate with:
- More than 400 games
- Console and PC access, plus play on supported handheld devices
- Cloud streaming
- Online console multiplayer
- EA Play
- Fortnite Crew
- Ubisoft+ Classics
- In-game benefits and rewards
- Day-one releases for select games
The day-one wording has an important exception: Call of Duty titles are excluded from that offer. Microsoft also states that, after any promotional period, the subscription renews at the regular price and selected term unless it is cancelled in the subscriber’s Microsoft account.
How the Canadian plans compare
These are the monthly Canadian prices currently shown on Xbox’s plan page. The listed benefits and release policies distinguish the tiers; Microsoft does not state a comparable game-count figure for each lower tier on that page.
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- What's in the box: Xbox Series X console, 1 Xbox Wireless Controller - Carbon Black, Ultra High Speed HDMI cable, Power cord.
- Equipped with AMD's Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures, DirectX ray tracing delivers true-to-life lighting, shadows and accurate reflections to create dynamic, living worlds.
- Memory: 16GB GDDR6 w/320 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 10 GB @ 560 GB/s, 6 GB @ 336 GB/s; Internal Storage: 1TB Custom NVME SSD
- Gaming Resolution: True 4K; Performance Target: Up to 120 FPS; High Dynamic Range: Up to 8K HDR; Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray; HDMI Features: Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, AMD FreeSync.
- Bundled with HDMI_Cable
| Plan | Monthly price | Access and notable benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | CAD $13.99 | Entry-level Game Pass tier; Xbox’s page does not state a library size in the cited listing |
| Premium | CAD $17.99 | Mid-tier Game Pass access; the cited page does not state a library size |
| PC Game Pass | CAD $16.99 | PC-focused access; the cited page does not state a library size |
| Ultimate | CAD $25.99 | 400+ games, console and PC play, supported handheld play, cloud streaming, online console multiplayer, EA Play, Fortnite Crew, Ubisoft+ Classics, rewards and selected day-one releases |
Only Ultimate combines the full console-and-PC package, cloud streaming and the listed partner memberships. Whether those extras justify the premium depends on how often you use them rather than on the launch price alone.
Is Call of Duty still day one on Game Pass?
No. Xbox Wire says future Call of Duty games are no longer planned to join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. Xbox plans to add those titles in the following holiday season, approximately a year later. Existing Call of Duty games that are already in the Game Pass library remain available.
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- 512GB CUSTOM SSD AND XBOX VELOCITY ARCHITECTURE — Reduce load times dramatically with the custom 512GB NVMe SSD and XBOX Velocity Architecture, enabling lightning-fast performance and seamless world streaming.
- QUICK RESUME — Seamlessly switch between multiple games and resume exactly where you left off. No more waiting through title screens and loading bars.
- FOUR GENERATIONS OF DIGITAL GAMES — Play thousands of digital games from XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, XBOX 360, and Original XBOX with backward compatibility. Many titles are enhanced for better visuals and performance. Smart Delivery ensures you always get the best version for your console.
That policy is separate from the general “day-one releases for select games” language on the Ultimate page. A new game can still qualify for day-one Game Pass inclusion, but future Call of Duty releases are specifically excluded.
What is changing for cloud gaming?
Xbox plans to introduce monthly limits on included cloud gaming beginning in November 2026:
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- What's in the box: Xbox Series S 512GB console, 1 Wireless Controller, High Speed HDMI cable.
- CPU: 8X Cores @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz w/SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU; GPU: 4 TFLOPS, 20 CUs @1.565 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU; SOC Die Size: 197.05 mm2.
- Memory: 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s.; Internal Storage: 512GB Custom NVME SSD
- Gaming Resolution: 1440p; Performance Target: Up to 120 FPS; HDMI Features: Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, AMD FreeSync.
- Ultimate: 15 hours per month
- Premium: 10 hours per month
- Essential: 5 hours per month
After the included time is used, Xbox says subscribers will be able to buy additional cloud playtime. Microsoft has not yet published the extra-play pricing, the final list of eligible games or market-specific availability. Until those details are released, the limits should be treated as a planned policy rather than a fully specified final product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you get a discount?
Discounts are not universal. TechRadar reported accounts being shown a 30% promotion, including a US$16.09-per-month Ultimate offer against a US$22.99 standard price, but the offer was not visible to every account and those figures are in U.S. dollars. Canadian subscribers should sign in and check the price displayed for their own Microsoft account before assuming a promotion applies.
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Ultimate is easiest to justify if you regularly use more than one of its major components: a large console-and-PC library, online console multiplayer, cloud streaming, EA Play, Fortnite Crew or Ubisoft+ Classics. Someone who mainly wants occasional access to a single game may spend less with a lower tier or a one-off purchase.
Two limitations matter to the value calculation. First, future Call of Duty games are not day-one Ultimate releases and are planned for roughly the following holiday season. Second, the planned November 2026 cloud limits will make heavy cloud users account for the 15-hour monthly allowance and any later top-up cost.
For Canadian players who use the bundled services, the current rate is a smaller increase than the October 2025 headline suggests: it is about CAD $3 above the former price. For subscribers who joined specifically for day-one Call of Duty or unlimited cloud streaming, the package is less compelling than it was before those policy changes.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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