Strange Xbox Email Suggests Game Pass Price Increase Doesn’t Apply to Some Members

Update #2 (Tue October 7, 2025, 9:15 p.m.): Microsoft also confirmed that the email is official:

“Our recent game pass update remains unchanged. Current subscribers in certain countries will continue to renew at their existing price for now, in accordance with local requirements. We will provide advance notice before price adjustments take effect in those countries.”

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Update #1 (Tue October 7, 2025, 6:34 p.m.): The Verge now reports that the email is “authentic and from Microsoft,” and notes that Xbox Game Pass members like Austria, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Korea, Poland, and India all get it. We’ll let you know if Microsoft provides an official follow-up statement on the matter.

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Original story: We’re obviously all aware of Xbox’s Ultimate Pass and PC Game Pass Prim Runch happening in most regions right now, but some members are potentially unaffected by it – mostly in Europe, it seems.

Today many people shared a apparent The new email from Xbox that claims the increases “will only apply to new purchases and will not affect your current subscription in your region” – and the origin of this email is places like Austria and Germany. Here’s a closer look, with a translation:

“You may have recently heard about changes to Xbox game subscription pricing.

It seems like it might have something to do with EU law, but apparently not everyone Across Europe is getting it, and unfortunately Microsoft has yet to provide a full list of countries that won’t be affected by the price increases. For what it’s worth, we’ve seen no evidence that members like the UK, US, Canada and Australia are getting it.

This could still spread beyond Europe, so it’s worth checking if you’ve received anything about this in your region. We spotted someone who suggested it’s even a thing in India.

Unfortunately, there East Still a lot of confusion surrounding this email due to Microsoft’s lack of transparency and multiple renewal prices appearing in different areas of the Xbox ecosystem, so this should all be taken with a pinch of salt for now. In other words, don’t be surprised if rising prices do are taking place in November as originally planned.

There has even been speculation this morning that the email is a scam due to the origin of the address “(email protected)”, but this is apparently a legitimate address used regularly for correspondence. It’s always worth being careful though – Don’t click anything on the email just in case Something questionable is going on here.

If we hear anything further from Microsoft about the situation, we will let you know as soon as possible.