Summary
New reports indicate that Xbox Game Pass could have even more price hikes or new tiers appearing sometime in the future. According to some industry analysts, the need to capitalize onXbox Game Passafter the purchase of Activision Blizzard may push Xbox to raise prices even more if subscription numbers don’t increase over time.
Earlier this week,IGN talked to expertssuch as Ampere Analysis’ Piers Harding-Rolls, Circana’s Mat Piscatella, and GameDiscoverCo’s Simon Carless, who shared their opinions about Game Pass’ future. These analysts agree that it’s possible that the Xbox Game Pass could see even more price increases in the future, or create new subscription tiers, as Microsoft continues to pursue economic growth. Harding-Rolls, for example, argues that the cost of making games has greatly increased recently and that there’s a big cost associated with putting titles such asCall of Dutyon Game Pass. Piscatella points out that the general subscription market has flattened in the last few years, especially after the pandemic, which diminished previously growing profits.
Analysts Believe That Xbox Game Pass May Have More Price Increases In The Future
Carless states that Xbox needs to increase its profits by either “volume or yield,” meaning that if the number of subscriptions is not growing, the price may inevitably go up. According to Harding-Rolls, however, nothing is set in stone yet. Microsoft is planning to release a mobile-focused version of Xbox Game Pass, which could potentially be a game-changer, and the expert estimates that Game Pass will become more profitable in the future due to the recent price increase. In the best-case scenario, this could prevent more price increases.
Regardless of what may happen in the future, there’s a growing sentiment among gamers thatMicrosoft could have handled Game Pass’s price hikes better. Xbox Game Pass was often considered the best deal in gaming, but that image has become weaker recently.
Besides the price increases, part of the issues many gamers have are related to Xbox’s confusing marketing. Previously, the company promised it wouldn’t increase prices after the Activision Blizzard acquisition, for example. Also, there’s no consensus onwhen first-party day one games will hit Xbox Game Pass Standard, as Xbox only indicated that day one games will be included on a case-by-case basis, taking between six months to “more time” to be included in the service.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you may play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
