The Monkey's Paw Has Curled a Finger: Game Pass Prices Have Dropped, But With One Notable Change for the Worse

Ya'll know about the cursed monkey paw, right? Originally a classic short story simply titled, "The Monkey's Paw," by W.W. Jacobs, it involves a mysterious mummified monkey's hand that grants wishes but at a terrible cost. It has been homaged and riffed on in everything from, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" to, "The Simpsons," and plenty of other media. Well, if anyone pulled out their monkey's paw today and said, "I want Microsoft's Game Pass to be cheaper, right now!" you've got your wish, with a little evil monkey-magic thrown in. You see, as of today, the Game Pass has gone down in price with the most expensive, "Ultimate," option decreasing from $30 to $23 and all the other selections going down in price as well. Something won't be, "Day One," on Game Pass anymore, and that, "Something," is pretty huge.

As Patricia Hernandez over at Polygon discusses, "According to Microsoft, everything that is currently included in either subscription will remain available after the price change. However, future Call of Duty games — including this year's unannounced Call of Duty entry — will no longer be day one releases on Game Pass. Instead, newer Call of Duty games will be available on Game Pass the following holiday season, or about a year after they first release. Existing Call of Duty titles already on the service will continue to be available for Game Pass subscribers." This might sting for many players as when it comes to the biggest games around, I often think of, "Pokemon," "Minecraft," and, "Call of Duty," being huge (there is GTA, but at this rate VI ain't never coming out). Obviously, the price increase ended up doing more harm than good, with many players (including yours truly) presumably giving up on Xbox/Game Pass with the drastic jump in cost back in October. I suppose a mix of lowering the price but charging people for (sooner) access to a big game is hoped to balance everything out. If you love Game Pass and, "Call of Duty," however, that Monkey Paw just zinged you thoroughly. Now, we shall see how this all shakes out.