Certainly, the biggest qualm gamers have with Xbox Game Pass is that the service has gotten to be too expensive. This sentiment has now been echoed by Asha Sharma, Microsoft’s new gaming chief, leading to speculation that a price decrease could be happening sometime soon.
Sharma shared her concerns about the pricing of Xbox Game Pass in an internal memo to Xbox employees, as reported by The Verge. She admitted that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players,” going on to hint that the service will need to be retooled in a way that makes it more affordable for subscribers. Many players have been expressing their unhappiness with the prices since last year’s price hike of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 per month, a whopping 50% increase.
Xbox Game Pass Is “Too Expensive for Players”
“Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,” the memo reads. “Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.”
Sharma is also quoted as saying she’s aware of the “online chatter” about Xbox Game Pass pricing. She promised that she plans to “go deeper” with employees next week about how to address the situation. It remains to be seen if this will result in significant price changes happening in the near future, though it’s now clear that Microsoft is aware of the problem and very well could be heading in that direction.
Xbox offers three Game Pass plans for players to choose from: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. Each tier includes playable games on both PC and console along with cloud gaming, though how many titles are available is vastly different for the three options. Essential, which costs $9.99 per month, includes 50+ games; Premium, at $14.99 per month, boasts 200+ games; and Ultimate, with its $29.99 per month pricing, includes 400+ games, including over 75 day one releases a year.
Many Players Refuse to Accept the Pricing Structure
Players were not happy about increased pricing, though Microsoft tried to soften the blow by adding perks to the service. Ultimate subscribers became eligible to earn up to $100 per year in Xbox Store credit with an updated Rewards program. Special discounts, including select Game Pass games being marked up to 30% off, were also added. The company also touted the expanded catalog to further justify the price. Still, even after the passing of several months, gamers continue to frequently criticize Xbox Game Pass for its prices.
For now, the playable games will be rolling in each month for subscribers. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is leading the pack with this month’s additions, set to drop on Game Pass on Apr. 16. Day one releases for this month include Replaced on Apr. 14, Vampire Crawlers on Apr. 21, and Kiln on Apr. 23.
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