How much does Xbox Game Pass cost in 2026 after the rollback?

As of April 2026, US pricing is: **Ultimate $22.99/month**, **PC Game Pass $13.99/month**, **Premium $14.99/month** (no change), and **Essential $9.99/month** (no change). The April 2026 rollback partially reversed the October 2025 50 percent hike, but **Ultimate at $22.99 is still ~15 percent higher than the pre-hike $19.99 price**. PC Game Pass was cut from $16.49 to $13.99.

Does cancelling Game Pass cancel Xbox Live Gold too?

If you bought **Xbox Live Gold** as a separate subscription (12-month or monthly), it is a **separate line** in your Microsoft account and will continue to renew unless you cancel it independently. If you are on **Game Pass Ultimate**, your membership includes Gold's online multiplayer and the Gold-to-Ultimate conversion still applies to any Gold time you stack on top of an active Ultimate subscription. Cancelling Ultimate does not auto-cancel a stacked Gold balance, but stacking Gold on top of a cancelled Ultimate will revert to Gold-only access.

Can I still get the day-one Call of Duty games if I cancel Game Pass?

**No** — Microsoft removed day-one Call of Duty access from Game Pass as part of the April 2026 rollback. New Call of Duty titles will appear in Game Pass roughly **12 months after launch** instead of at launch. If day-one Call of Duty is the main reason you subscribed, the subscription value proposition has changed materially — cancelling and buying Call of Duty standalone is now a real option to weigh.

I bought Game Pass through Steam — can I cancel at account.microsoft.com?

**No**. If you bought the subscription through Steam, EA, GameStop, or another third-party retailer, the subscription is owned by that retailer, and the **Cancel** button will not appear at account.microsoft.com/services. You must cancel through the retailer's own subscription management — for Steam, that is **Steam → Account → Account details → Manage subscriptions**.

Will my friends and family plan members lose access if I cancel?

Yes — if you are the **Family Organizer** for an Xbox Family plan or a **Friends & Family** Ultimate subscription, cancelling your own subscription cascades to every member. Before you cancel, **promote another adult member to organizer** (Microsoft Family Safety) so the family keeps the shared library and entitlements. Members who redeemed games while the plan was active keep those games on their own accounts.

What is coming to Xbox Game Pass in October 2026?

Microsoft has confirmed a heavy October 2026 day-one slate. The flagship is **Gears of War: E-Day** on October 6 (Xbox Series X|S exclusive; the first mainline Gears since Gears 5 in 2019 and a prequel to the 2006 original). The rest of the October day-one wave confirmed by Xbox Wire and Notebookcheck: **Echo Weaver** and **Forever Ago** on October 8; **Valor Mortis** and **Deep Dish Dungeon** on October 13; **Beyond These Stars** on October 15 (Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is also expected October 15 per an Xbox Game Pass Instagram Reel leak, not yet officially confirmed); **The Seance of Blake Manor** on October 27; **Terrible Lizards** and **Neon Abyss 2** on October 29. Most of these are **Ultimate and PC Game Pass** day-one — Essential gets a smaller slice of the new wave.

What games are leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 15, 2026?

Microsoft confirmed **10 games leaving on September 15, 2026** (plus NBA 2K26 on September 6). The full removal list per Xbox Wire and Pure Xbox: **Commandos: Origins** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Cricket 24** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Cyberpunk 2077** (Cloud and Console only — PC stays for now), **Dead Cells** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Frostpunk 2** (PC only), **Mullet Madjack** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Spiritfarer** (Cloud, Console, PC), **Superliminal** (Cloud, Console, PC), and **Train Sim World 5** (Cloud, Console, PC). Subscribers get a **20%+ member discount** to purchase before removal — the discount window closes when the game leaves at the end of the day on September 15.

Is Kojima's PHYSINT coming to Xbox Game Pass?

PHYSINT is **published by Xbox** as of September 9, 2026, after Sony quietly cancelled the project in mid-June. The arrangement was announced by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Kojima Productions on Xbox Wire, with film and TV collaboration also included alongside the existing OD partnership. **Day-one Game Pass status has not been confirmed** — Xbox's role is publisher, not platform-exclusive owner, and no PC or console exclusivity terms were disclosed. PHYSINT is still 5–6 years from release per Kojima's May 2025 estimate, so the Game Pass question is open. **OD** (Kojima's horror title with Xbox Game Studios and Jordan Peele) is expected to launch before PHYSINT and is a stronger Game Pass day-one candidate.

Can I still use Microsoft Rewards points to pay for Xbox Game Pass?

**Not directly.** Microsoft **ended the auto-renew Game Pass with Rewards points program on October 1, 2025**. The current Microsoft-supported workaround is two steps: (1) redeem your Rewards points for an **Xbox or Microsoft Store gift card** at rewards.bing.com (1,600 points is the smallest tier; 5,000+ for higher amounts); (2) let the gift-card balance accumulate in your Microsoft account, then use it to **manually renew Game Pass** at account.microsoft.com/services a few days before your cycle ends. Ultimate subscribers can earn up to **100,000 points per year** through gameplay (up from 58,000 before the October 2025 hike), and Premium/Ultimate get **2x / 4x point multipliers** on Store purchases, but the redemption path is now gift-card-first, not direct.

Xbox Game Pass Cancel Guide After the 2026 Price Hike

Q: What is the difference between 'turn off recurring billing' and 'cancel subscription'?

**Turn off recurring billing** keeps your access active until the end of the current billing cycle, then does not renew — you keep the full month you already paid for. **Cancel subscription** ends access at the close of the current cycle and is the same outcome in practice, but is the explicit signal Microsoft records. If your goal is to stop the next charge, either option works. If you want to keep playing through the cycle you paid for, do not delete the subscription from your account or contact support — just use the toggle and let the cycle end naturally.

Q: Can I get a refund if I cancel right after a charge?

Microsoft offers a **14-day cooling-off window** for subscription charges. Within that window, you can request a refund at **account.microsoft.com/services** by clicking **Get help** on the recent charge and choosing **Request a refund**, provided you have not meaningfully used the subscription. Outside the cooling-off window, the standard practice is to **turn off recurring billing** and let the cycle run out — Microsoft does not typically pro-rate refunds for partial months.

Q: What happens to my Game Pass games after I cancel?

Anything you **already redeemed and downloaded** while subscribed stays yours to play forever, as long as you keep your account active. Anything still streaming or only accessible because the subscription is active will lock when your cycle ends. **Your save files, Gamerscore, purchased games, and unlocked entitlements all remain on the account.** You only lose access to the rotating Game Pass catalog and the perks tied to the tier you cancelled.

Q: Did Microsoft actually roll back the October 2025 50 percent hike?

**Partially**. Ultimate dropped from **$29.99 back to $22.99** (a $7.00 / 23 percent reduction), and PC Game Pass dropped from **$16.49 back to $13.99**. Premium and Essential were not affected by the rollback and remain at **$14.99** and **$9.99**. The rollback was triggered by Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma's February 2026 internal memo acknowledging that Game Pass had become "too expensive for players," and by Xbox CSO Matthew Ball's June 2026 public admission that Game Pass "lost millions of subscribers" in the months following the October 2025 hike.

Q: Should I cancel or just turn off recurring billing?

If your goal is to stop the next charge, **both are equivalent** — turning off recurring billing and cancelling both result in no future charge and full access until the current cycle ends. The only reason to pick one over the other is **psychological**: "cancel" is a more decisive action and removes the line from your active subscriptions view, while "turn off recurring billing" leaves the line visible with a clear "will not renew" tag. Pick whichever helps you actually stop the renewal — there is no functional difference in the billing outcome.

TL;DR

Three paths: web at account.microsoft.com/services, Xbox console → Settings → Account → Subscriptions, or Microsoft Store → Payment & subscriptions on Windows PC. All three do the same thing.

Pick “Turn off recurring billing” if you want to keep the rest of your current cycle, or “Cancel subscription” if you want a more decisive end-of-cycle action. There is no functional difference in the billing outcome — both stop the next charge.

Refund window is 14 days from the most recent charge via account.microsoft.com/services → Get help → Request a refund. Beyond 14 days, the standard outcome is to let the cycle run out — Microsoft does not typically pro-rate.

Library, saves, Gamerscore, and purchased games all stay on your account after you cancel. You only lose the rotating Game Pass catalog and tier perks.

Context for the spike in cancellations: October 2025 hiked Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 (+50%). April 2026 partially rolled back to $22.99 (-23%). PC Game Pass dropped from $16.49 to $13.99. Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma acknowledged in a February 2026 memo that the service had become “too expensive for players.”

Why cancellations spiked in mid-2026

Microsoft raised Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99/month (+50%) on October 1, 2025 — the steepest one-time hike in the service's history. The price stayed at $29.99 for six months before Microsoft rolled it back to $22.99 on April 21, 2026. Xbox CSO Matthew Ball publicly admitted at The Game Business Live in June 2026 that Game Pass "lost millions of subscribers" in the months following the hike. This guide covers exactly how to cancel cleanly — and what stays on your account afterwards.

Who this guide is for

You are on Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass / Premium / Essential and want to stop the next charge
You were charged recently and want a refund before your cycle renews
You are weighing whether cancelling or letting the cycle run out is the better move
You bought Game Pass through a third-party retailer (Steam, EA, GameStop) and are not sure where to cancel
You are the Family Organizer and need to cancel without breaking the shared plan

This is the defensive / how-to companion to our Xbox Handheld (Project Keenan) tracker and the rest of our console coverage.

1. The current Game Pass tier structure (April 2026)

Microsoft restructured the Game Pass lineup in October 2025 alongside the Ultimate hike, then partially rolled back Ultimate pricing in April 2026. The four tiers as of September 2026:

Tier	US monthly	Change vs October 2025	Library	Day-one titles
Ultimate	$22.99	Was $29.99, rolled back in April 2026	500+ games	Yes (but Call of Duty delayed ~12 months)
PC Game Pass	$13.99	Was $16.49, rolled back in April 2026	300+ PC games	Yes
Premium	$14.99	No change	200+ games	Select new games within ~1 year
Essential	$9.99	No change	50+ games	No

Practical takeaway: even after the April 2026 rollback, Ultimate at $22.99 is still ~15% higher than the pre-hike $19.99 price, and the removal of day-one Call of Duty access in April 2026 reduced the perceived value for many subscribers. If you subscribed for CoD specifically, the subscription value proposition has changed materially.

2. Cancel on the web (account.microsoft.com) — fastest path

The web path is the fastest and works on every Game Pass tier. It does not require an Xbox console or a Windows PC.

2.1 The 4 steps

Step	What to click	Where
1	Open account.microsoft.com/services	Any browser, signed in to your Microsoft account
2	Find the Xbox Game Pass line	Under Subscriptions
3	Click Manage	Then Turn off recurring billing or Cancel subscription
4	Confirm	Microsoft password or authenticator app

You will receive a confirmation email at the address on file. The change takes effect within a few seconds; you can verify at the same Services page (the line will show “Will not renew” or “Canceled”).

2.2 What “Turn off recurring billing” vs “Cancel subscription” actually does

Option	What happens	What you keep
Turn off recurring billing	Subscription ends at the close of the current cycle, no further charges	Full access until cycle ends
Cancel subscription	Same end-of-cycle behavior, but the line is removed from your active subscriptions view	Full access until cycle ends

The billing outcome is identical. The only difference is cosmetic — “Cancel” removes the line from the subscriptions list; “Turn off recurring billing” keeps it visible with a “Will not renew” tag. Pick whichever feels more decisive for you.

Common pitfall: there is a third button — “Remove subscription” — that immediately revokes access. Do not pick this unless you want to lose the rest of your cycle right now. It is not the same as “Cancel.”

3. Cancel on an Xbox console (Series X|S / Xbox One)

The console path is what most subscribers see first when they hit the Xbox dashboard. It works on all Game Pass tiers.

3.1 The path

Xbox button → Settings → Account → Subscriptions → [Pick the line] → Cancel subscription

The console will prompt you with two options:

Option	Effect
Cancel recurring billing	Access until cycle end, no further charge
End subscription now	Immediate loss of Game Pass access

Pick the option that matches your intent. If your goal is to stop the next charge without losing the current cycle, Cancel recurring billing is the one.

3.2 Troubleshooting the console path

No “Cancel” button visible: your subscription was purchased under a different Microsoft account. Sign out (Xbox button → Profile & system → Sign out) and sign back in with the right account.
Subscription purchased through a third party (Steam, EA, GameStop): the Cancel button will not appear. See §6.
Subscription is part of a Friends & Family plan: only the organizer can cancel the subscription. The member sees the subscription but cannot end it from their console.

4. Cancel on the Microsoft Store (Windows PC)

The Microsoft Store path is what PC Game Pass and Ultimate (PC side) subscribers use most often. It also covers EA Play membership when bundled with Game Pass Ultimate.

4.1 The path

Microsoft Store → Profile icon → Payment & subscriptions → Subscriptions → [Pick the Game Pass line] → Manage → Cancel

Or alternatively: Settings → Accounts → Your subscriptions in the Microsoft Store app on Xbox for cloud access.

4.2 Same two options as the web path

The Microsoft Store offers the same “Turn off recurring billing” vs “Cancel subscription” toggle. Pick whichever matches your intent.

Common pitfall: if you bought PC Game Pass through the Xbox app for Windows instead of the Microsoft Store, the subscription is still owned by Microsoft — the same cancel path works. If you bought it through Steam, see §6.

5. Refund policy — when you can get money back

Microsoft’s subscription refund policy is straightforward:

Window	Outcome
0–14 days after a charge	Refund available if you have not meaningfully used the subscription (low playtime, no day-one titles redeemed)
15+ days after a charge	No refund; the standard outcome is to turn off recurring billing and let the cycle run out
Recurring billing after the cooling-off window	Each renewal charge starts a new 14-day window for that specific charge

5.1 How to request a refund

Step	Action
1	Go to account.microsoft.com/services
2	Find the recent Game Pass charge
3	Click Get help
4	Choose Request a refund
5	Submit and wait for the email response (typically 1–3 business days)

If the refund is denied and you believe the charge is unauthorized, escalate via support.xbox.com → Billing → Unauthorized charge. Chargebacks through your bank or card issuer are a last resort and may flag your Microsoft account.

Practical takeaway: if you want to cancel and you were charged within the last 14 days, request the refund first and turn off recurring billing second. Do them in that order — if the refund is denied, you still stop the next charge.

6. Third-party cancellations — Steam, EA, GameStop

If you bought Game Pass through a retailer other than Microsoft directly, the Microsoft cancel paths will not see your subscription.

Retailer	Where to cancel
Steam	Steam → Account → Account details → Manage subscriptions
EA	EA Account → Subscriptions → Manage
GameStop	GameStop subscription portal or in-store
Retail gift cards (Best Buy, Walmart)	Treated as Microsoft-owned after redemption; cancel at account.microsoft.com/services

Common pitfall: redeeming a retail gift card for Game Pass does not transfer ownership to a retailer — it converts into Microsoft-owned subscription time on your account, and the cancel button at account.microsoft.com will work. But buying Game Pass through Steam’s subscription system keeps Steam as the owner of record.

7. What stays on your account after you cancel

Cancellation is non-destructive. Your account and your entitlements are preserved.

Asset	Status after cancel
Purchased games (bought outright, not from Game Pass)	Stay forever
Game Pass entitlements already redeemed	Stay forever (you keep whatever you downloaded)
Save files / Gamerscore	Stay forever
Xbox Live Gold (if separate subscription)	Renews separately until you cancel it independently
Friends & Family plan (if you’re a member)	Ends with the organizer’s subscription
Rotating Game Pass catalog	Lost at cycle end
Day-one access to new Game Pass titles	Lost
Cloud streaming	Lost (Ultimate / Premium tiers)
Perks (Fortnite Crew, Ubisoft+ Classics on Ultimate)	Lost

Practical takeaway: if you redeemed a $69.99 day-one Game Pass title last month, that title stays on your account even after you cancel. You only lose the rotating catalog and the perks tied to the tier.

Re-subscribing is one click away — visit xbox.com/game-pass or open the Game Pass app and pick a tier.

If you…	Then
Want day-one access to upcoming Game Pass titles	Wait for a specific drop and re-subscribe for that month
Use cloud streaming regularly (travel, handheld, low-spec PC)	Ultimate or Premium is required
Play online multiplayer via Game Pass Ultimate	Cancelling ends your multiplayer entitlement unless you switch to a separate Gold sub
Were on Friends & Family and you cancel	You lose shared access unless the organizer re-adds you via a paid seat

The same Microsoft account that cancelled can re-subscribe without any cooldown. The previous billing date does not carry over — re-subscribing bills you immediately for the new cycle.

9. Friends & Family plans — how to cancel without breaking the family

If you are the organizer of a Microsoft Family Safety group and your Game Pass is shared across the family:

Promote another adult member to organizer at account.microsoft.com/family before you cancel your subscription
Promote yourself to organizer in the new family if you intend to keep paying for your own access
Then cancel your subscription through the regular web / console / Microsoft Store path

If you cancel without promoting a new organizer first, every family member loses Game Pass access at the end of your cycle. Members who redeemed Game Pass titles while the plan was active keep those titles on their own accounts.

10. Quick decision tree

Your situation	Best action
Within 14 days of the last charge	Request a refund AND turn off recurring billing
Just want to stop the next charge	Turn off recurring billing (keeps the current cycle)
Want a decisive end-of-cycle action	Cancel subscription
Want to lose access immediately	Remove subscription (NOT recommended — you lose the rest of the cycle)
Bought through Steam / EA / GameStop	Cancel through the retailer
Friends & Family organizer	Promote a new organizer first, then cancel
Plan to re-subscribe in 1–2 months for a specific drop	Cancel, set a calendar reminder, re-subscribe when the drop lands

FAQ

Q: How much does Xbox Game Pass cost in 2026 after the April rollback? A: Ultimate $22.99/month, PC Game Pass $13.99/month, Premium $14.99/month, Essential $9.99/month (US). Ultimate was rolled back from $29.99 to $22.99 in April 2026, partially reversing the October 2025 50 percent hike. PC Game Pass dropped from $16.49 to $13.99. Even after the rollback, Ultimate is still ~15 percent higher than the pre-hike $19.99 price.

Q: What is the difference between “turn off recurring billing” and “cancel subscription”? A: They produce the same billing outcome — no further charges, access until the end of the current cycle. “Turn off recurring billing” leaves the line visible in your subscriptions list with a “Will not renew” tag; “cancel subscription” removes the line entirely. There is a third option, “remove subscription,” which immediately cuts off access — do not pick this unless you want to forfeit the rest of your paid cycle.

Q: Can I get a refund if I cancel right after a charge? A: Yes, within Microsoft’s 14-day cooling-off window. Go to account.microsoft.com/services, find the recent charge, click Get help, choose Request a refund. Outside the 14-day window, Microsoft does not typically pro-rate refunds — the standard outcome is to turn off recurring billing and let the cycle run out.

Q: What happens to my Game Pass games after I cancel? A: Anything you already redeemed and downloaded stays on your account forever. Saves, Gamerscore, purchased games, and unlocked entitlements are all preserved. You only lose the rotating Game Pass catalog and the tier-specific perks (cloud streaming, Fortnite Crew on Ultimate, etc.).

Q: Did Microsoft actually roll back the October 2025 50 percent hike? A: Partially. Ultimate dropped from $29.99 to $22.99 (-23 percent). PC Game Pass dropped from $16.49 to $13.99. Premium and Essential were not changed. The rollback was triggered by Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma’s February 2026 internal memo acknowledging Game Pass had become “too expensive for players,” and Xbox CSO Matthew Ball’s June 2026 public admission that Game Pass lost “millions of subscribers” after the October 2025 hike.

Q: Should I cancel or just turn off recurring billing? A: If your goal is to stop the next charge, both are equivalent — pick whichever feels more decisive. If you want to keep playing through the cycle you already paid for, do not use the “Remove subscription” option. “Turn off recurring billing” and “Cancel subscription” both preserve the rest of the cycle.

Internal cross-links

Crimson Desert First Hour Guide: Best Settings, Combat Tips, and Switch 2 vs PS5 vs PS4 Differences — cross-platform console comparison
Forza Horizon 6 Core Mechanics — uses Game Pass day-one access on Xbox
Halo Campaign Evolved 8.17 Update: Best Video Settings — Xbox-ecosystem coverage

11. October 2026 day-one lineup — the strongest slate since the price rollback

October 2026 is the densest month on Game Pass since the April 2026 partial rollback. Microsoft confirmed a day-one slate that runs nearly every week, anchored by Gears of War: E-Day on October 6 — the first mainline Gears since Gears 5 (2019) and a prequel to the 2006 original. The October day-one wave (verified by Xbox Wire, Notebookcheck, Thurrott, and GameRant) is below.

Date	Title	Tiers	Platforms
Oct 2	Keeper	Premium	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 6	Gears of War: E-Day (flagship)	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Series X\|S exclusive, PC, Cloud
Oct 8	Echo Weaver	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 8	Forever Ago	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 13	Valor Mortis	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 13	Deep Dish Dungeon	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 15	Beyond These Stars	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 15	Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (leaked, not yet officially confirmed)	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 27	The Seance of Blake Manor	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 29	Terrible Lizards	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Oct 29	Neon Abyss 2	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC
Late Oct	Halo: Campaign Evolved (Standard Edition already on Ultimate / PC since July 28)	Ultimate, PC Game Pass	Cloud, Series X\|S, PC

Practical takeaway: if you were on the fence about cancelling, October 6 — Gears of War: E-Day — is the cleanest re-subscribe day. Subscribe for one month at $22.99, finish the campaign, then cancel before the November charge. The October 6 to October 29 window is a genuine ~$0.77/day value window for anyone who has been on the fence since the April rollback.

What it means for cancellation timing: the cleanest cancel-now-and-resubscribe-later pattern for October is:

Cancel now (turn off recurring billing) to stop the September cycle from rolling into October
Set a calendar reminder for October 5 — one day before E-Day drops
Re-subscribe on October 5 or October 6 for one month, then turn off recurring billing again before November 5
Repeat in November if Keeper / the late-October slate pulls you in

This is the same “subscribe for the drop, then turn it off” pattern covered in §8, applied to a specific calendar.

12. September 15 2026 removals — Cyberpunk 2077, Dead Cells, Frostpunk 2, and 7 more

The September 15, 2026 removal wave is the heaviest of 2026. Microsoft confirmed 10 games leaving at the end of that day, plus NBA 2K26 on September 6 as an early-out. All of these can still be purchased at a 20%+ Game Pass member discount until they leave the catalog.

Title	Platforms affected
NBA 2K26 (Sept 6 early-out)	Console, PC, Cloud
Commandos: Origins	Cloud, Console, PC
Cricket 24	Cloud, Console, PC
Cyberpunk 2077	Cloud and Console only — PC is not listed in this notice
Dead Cells	Cloud, Console, PC
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor	Cloud, Console, PC
Frostpunk 2	PC only — Cloud and Console are not listed
Mullet Madjack	Cloud, Console, PC
Spiritfarer	Cloud, Console, PC
Superliminal	Cloud, Console, PC
Train Sim World 5	Cloud, Console, PC

Practical takeaway — platform-specific exceptions: Cyberpunk 2077 is leaving cloud and console but staying on PC for this removal cycle, and Frostpunk 2 is leaving PC but staying on cloud and console. Microsoft does not always sync removal dates across platforms, so if a title you want is leaving on one platform, check the other two before assuming it’s gone everywhere.

What to do before September 15 ends (US time):

Claim the member discount for any of the 10 you want to keep. The 20%+ discount is set at the Game Pass store listing and closes when the game is removed.
Use any remaining entitlement if you already redeemed the game (downloads stay on your account, but cloud access locks the moment the cycle ends or the removal happens, whichever comes first).
Mull over Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom Liberty as a standalone buy if you only own console — the 2020 launch is long past, and the 2.0 update + Phantom Liberty expansion make it one of the best open-world RPGs of the decade at full price.

The full pre-removal list was confirmed by Pure Xbox, Windows Central, GameRant, CBR, and Xbox Wire’s September Wave 1 update on September 1, 2026.

13. How to delay cancellation with Microsoft Rewards (2025 workaround)

If the price is the reason you’re cancelling — and the Microsoft Rewards program is one of the few ways to legitimately offset the cost — here is the current state of play. Microsoft ended direct auto-renew of Game Pass with Rewards points on October 1, 2025. The current Microsoft-supported workaround is gift-card first, manual renew second.

13.1 The two-step workaround

Step	What to do	Where
1	Redeem Rewards points for an Xbox or Microsoft Store gift card	rewards.bing.com (smallest: 1,600 points; mid-tier: 5,000 points; larger: 10,000+ points)
2	Let the gift-card balance sit in your Microsoft account, then manually renew Game Pass a few days before your cycle ends	account.microsoft.com/services → pick Game Pass → change payment to balance

The gift card is added to your Microsoft account balance and applied automatically at checkout. If the balance covers the full $22.99 Ultimate charge, your credit card is not touched. Partial-balance renewals work too — the balance is applied first, the remainder hits your card.

13.2 How many points does it take to fund Game Pass?

Exact point-to-dollar ratios shift with promotions and your market, but the recent baseline for US accounts is roughly:

Target	Approx. points needed (US)	Earn rate (Level 2 + Ultimate)
1 month of Game Pass Ultimate ($22.99)	~12,000–14,000 points	Bing search (150/day cap) + Store 4x + Game Pass quests
1 month of PC Game Pass ($13.99)	~7,500–9,000 points	Same multipliers apply
1 month of Premium ($14.99)	~8,000–10,000 points	Same
1 month of Essential ($9.99)	~5,500–7,000 points	Same

Earning speed (Level 2 + Game Pass Ultimate):

Bing PC search: 5 points per search, 150 points/day cap
Bing mobile search: 5 points per search, 100 points/day cap
Microsoft Store purchases: 20 points per $1 (4x the Level 1 rate)
Game Pass quests (Ultimate exclusive): monthly packs (4 and 8), weekly streaks
Gameplay earnings cap: 100,000 points/year (up from 58,000 pre-October 2025)

Practical takeaway: a heavy user on Bing + Level 2 + Ultimate can earn ~5,000–7,000 points/month from searches alone, which covers roughly one month of Game Pass Essential every 4 weeks at the redemption baseline. To cover one month of Ultimate purely from search earnings, you need ~2 months of consistent Bing use — plus Store 4x multipliers on any purchases. This is offset, not free.

13.3 Why direct auto-renew went away

Microsoft’s October 2025 changes (the same package that raised Ultimate 50%) ended the auto-redeem Game Pass with points option. Reasons cited in the Microsoft Rewards service agreement: the change simplified the redemption catalog and aligned subscription billing across Xbox, Microsoft 365, and PC Game Pass. The gift-card-first workaround is the only Microsoft-supported path to fund Game Pass with points as of September 2026.

If you were relying on the old auto-redeem: the change happened silently for many users. Check your account.microsoft.com/services page — if your Game Pass line is still showing auto-renew via a card, you need to set up the gift-card balance manually before the next charge.

13.4 The Kojima / Xbox context for why this matters

September 9, 2026 was a major week for the Game Pass value question. Xbox announced it would publish PHYSINT — Hideo Kojima’s action-espionage game that Sony had been funding since January 2024 before cancelling in mid-June 2026. Kojima spent three months finding a new publisher and landed back at Xbox alongside the OD horror project. No PHYSINT Game Pass day-one commitment has been made — Xbox’s role is publisher, not platform owner — but the broader deal extends to film and TV, signalling that Xbox is positioning itself as the home for premium creative-led projects that historically went to PlayStation.

The relevance for cancellation decisions: the long-term Game Pass value proposition is shifting back toward first-party + creative exclusives (Halo Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, the Forza Horizon 6 line, OD) after the April 2026 rollback stripped day-one Call of Duty. If Microsoft’s first-party slate continues to deliver at this density through 2027 (Halo + Gears + Forza + Clockwork Revolution + Fable + OD), the subscription value stabilizes for US players who use multiple platforms. If you only play one or two genres, the cancellation math stays the same.

Last updated: 2026-09-16. Verified against The Verge (Microsoft revamps Xbox Game Pass plans), IGN (Ultimate price rises to $30 a month), Microsoft support documentation for the cancellation paths, Xbox Wire (PHYSINT + Kojima deal, September 9 2026), Pure Xbox (September 15 removal list), Windows Central (September 1 Wave 1 announcement), GameRant (Castlevania Belmont’s Curse leak + removal coverage), and Thurrott (October day-one lineup). Current US pricing reflects the April 2026 partial rollback. The October 2025 50 percent hike and the February 2026 Asha Sharma memo are confirmed by multiple tier-1 outlets. Microsoft Rewards direct auto-renew with points was discontinued on October 1, 2025 — the gift-card-first workaround in §13 is the only Microsoft-supported path as of September 2026.

HistoryRevision history

v1.1Sep 16, 2026
- Added October 2026 day-one lineup (Gears of War: E-Day, Echo Weaver, Forever Ago, Valor Mortis, Terrible Lizards, Neon Abyss 2, and more).
- Added full September 15 2026 removal list (Cyberpunk 2077, Dead Cells, Frostpunk 2, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Spiritfarer, and 5 others).
- Added How to Delay Cancellation via Microsoft Rewards (October 1 2025 auto-renewal-with-points was discontinued — workaround is gift-card first, manual renew second).
- Added Kojima PHYSINT Xbox publishing deal context (Sept 9 2026).
- Refreshed FAQ with 4 new questions covering the October lineup, the September 15 removals, the PHYSINT deal, and the Rewards delay-cancel workaround.
v1.0Sep 15, 2026
- Initial publication.

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