Microsoft may soon rethink the pricing of its popular subscription service, Xbox Game Pass. In a recent internal memo, Xbox’s new chief, Asha Sharma, admitted that the service has become expensive for players and hinted that changes could be on the way. According to a memo obtained by The Verge, Sharma told employees that the company needs to improve the value players get from the service.
‘Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,’ Sharma wrote. ‘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 also referenced the growing online discussion about Game Pass pricing and said she plans to speak with Xbox staff in more detail next week.
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Microsoft increased the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by a major margin last year. The jump was one of the biggest price hikes the service has seen since its launch. At the time, Microsoft tried to justify the increase by introducing upgrades across several Game Pass tiers.
Part of the cost increase reportedly came from Microsoft’s decision to add new releases from the Call of Duty franchise to Game Pass. The company added Call of Duty to Game Pass in the summer of 2024.
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Now there are rumours that Microsoft may reconsider that strategy. Jez Corden from Windows Central recently suggested that Call of Duty could be removed from Game Pass in the future.
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