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For the past month, we have been sharing regular suggestions for the games we are enjoying on Game Pass. It's an opportunity for us to highlight underrated titles or just discuss our favorite games. For this week, though, we need to begin by addressing the elephant in the room: the latest anti-consumer updates to Game Pass.

Starting October 1, Microsoft announced a bevy of changes to the service, with the most notable coming to the service's Ultimate tier — which offers the most games available plus day-one access to new games from Xbox Game Studios. It'll now cost $30 monthly, increased from $20. Understandably, subscribers were not happy, and numerous voices on online platforms and in comment sections about their plans to terminate their subscriptions.

This marks the conclusion for Game Pass as the once celebrated gaming bargain has ended. Now, players must consider if the annual $360 cost for the premium plan provides value to them, especially as everything else in life continues to rise.

Should you maintain your membership, or seeking justifications to keep it active, check out our current picks. They include a top-tier Metroidvanias of recent years, a 2025 Game of the Year contender, and a delightful JRPG sequel. Or, should you prefer to cancel Game Pass, refer to instructions on modifying or ending your Game Pass subscription.

The Lost Crown: A Prince of Persia Adventure

Should you decide to keep your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you might require additional reasons to justify it. A strong argument for the higher fee is that it includes to a collection of Ubisoft titles. You’ll get plenty of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games for your $30 a month, but the best perk is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

This side-scrolling adventure makes fantastic use of the series, taking it back to its platforming roots in a dangerous maze that’s a exciting to explore. Combine this with exceptionally rich, most varied combat the category includes, and you have the recipe for a premium exploration game. Add in both Hollow Knight: Silksong and The Rogue Prince of Persia and you’re already breaking even on three months of your subscription cost.

Blue Prince

The first-person puzzle game Blue Prince debuted to strong sales and a dedicated community on Steam, but its console player base was supported initially by subscription services (it was also available on other services). The word of mouth combined with its simple availability eventually helped the game attract two million users.

Trying a title for a few hours to discover if it's your jam or not is a key advantage of the service, and those seeking immersion in a mystery should check out Blue Prince. You play as the heir to an estate and large inheritance, but only if you can find the mansion's secret room. The challenge? The mansion's layout is constantly changing, making Blue Prince a roguelike with fresh clues to uncover regularly. I've spent a few hours with it and have been gradually uncovering mysteries and hints related to the enigma at the core of the story, and I'm eager to discover how it develops as I uncover more.

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom - The Prince's Edition

Am I recommending Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom simply since the version included on Game Pass is the Prince's Edition and that creates thematic harmony with our previous selections? That remains unconfirmed. What I will tell, however, is that Ni No Kuni 2 is delightful follow-up to one of the best JRPGs of all time. Despite the whimsical Ghibli aesthetic and emphasis on youthful protagonists, Ni No Kuni 2 doesn't shy away from serious themes, beginning with an seeming act of violence on a modern-day city before immediately throwing the protagonist (the literal president) into an other world where they end up smack in the middle of a violent Medieval-era coup. Compared to the first game, the combat is more action-focused — resembling a Tales game than a Pokémon one — and features a truly complex and complex management in which you have to manage a kingdom. It might be the Prince's Edition, but it feels more like king shit to me.