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After hiking Xbox prices twice this year, Microsoft just bumped monthly Game Pass costs by 50%

The move comes just a few weeks after Microsoft hiked the price of Xbox consoles by up to $70.

10/1/25 12:33PM

October is Xbox price hike month.

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that the cost of its top-tier monthly gaming subscription, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, is rising to $30 per month, up from $20. The 50% increase will be followed by an already announced boost to the price of Xbox consoles later this week.

According to Microsoft, the subscription price hike reflects an “expanded catalog, new partner benefits, and upgraded cloud gaming experience.” The company also said that 45 new games are being added to the tier today.

Microsoft doesn’t frequently disclose Game Pass subscription numbers, but estimates put the current figure at about 38 million. That could grow with the launch of Xbox’s new handheld device, the ROG Xbox Ally, on October 16.

The handhelds won’t be cheap, either: the base model will cost $600, while the higher-powered edition will cost $1,000. For context, the Series X console, which launched at $500 about five years ago, will retail for $650 when the latest boost takes effect on Friday.

Microsoft may be more willing to raise prices than its rivals Nintendo and Sony, but all three have bumped the shelf price of some consoles this year amid tariffs.

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Netflix is staffing up an apparent AI animation studio called INKubator

According to several public job listings, streaming giant Netflix appears to be building a GenAI animation studio called INKubator.

First reported by journalist Janko Roettgers in the Lowpass newsletter, INKubator seems to have launched in March and aims to “develop feature-quality content in a creator-led environment.”

As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.

Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.

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Netflix confirms a “KPop Demon Hunters” world concert tour is on the way

Netflix has a “Golden” mine and it's digging deeper.

At its fourth annual TV Upfront presentation on Wednesday, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard announced a partnership with AEG Presents to create a “KPop Demon Hunters” world tour that will bring the phenomenon to life.

In March, Bloomberg previously reported Netflix was planning a global world tour sometime next year ahead of the sequel in arenas that would hold 10,000 to 20,000 fans, though the news had not been confirmed by the company nor had a partner been in place at the time.

“KPop Demon Hunters” is Netflix’s most watched film of all time, racking up 481.6 million views globally during the second half of 2025. Since its release, the HUNTR/X trio of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami has appeared and performed at several major events including late-night talk shows, award ceremonies, and most recently at Coachella, where they were a surprise guest for Katseye. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the trio will be on the tour.

The announcement of the tour comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared in a recent blog post that the company spent $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the last 10 years.

This year, Netflix has a projected content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year, while its annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion. The streaming giant has brought in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.

Netflix said more details around cities and tickets for the concert tour are expected to come out later this year.

After hiking Xbox prices twice this year, Microsoft just bumped monthly Game Pass costs by 50%

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Netflix is staffing up an apparent AI animation studio called INKubator

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Netflix confirms a “KPop Demon Hunters” world concert tour is on the way

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