Microsoft has announced significant price increases for its popular Game Pass subscription service, causing a stir among the gaming community. The tech giant, known for its recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a whopping $69 billion, revealed that monthly charges for PC Game Pass will be raised by £2 to £9.99, while the premium Ultimate service will see a £2 increase to £14.99 per month.
In a move that is set to shake up the industry, Microsoft is replacing its standard subscription tier on Xbox consoles in September, meaning gamers will now have to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate if they want access to new games on the day of release. This change comes after the announcement in May that the highly anticipated title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, would be available immediately to Game Pass subscribers.
Analysts view this as a strategic move by Microsoft to disrupt the traditional sales model of physical games, as Game Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Plus service offer a vast library of games for a monthly fee, likened to a “Netflix for games.” With around 34 million Game Pass subscribers worldwide, all users will now have to pay more for the service.
The price increases for the UK are as follows:
– Game Pass Ultimate: Monthly from £12.99 to £14.99
– PC Game Pass: Monthly from £7.99 to £9.99
– Game Pass Core: Annual from £49.99 to £55.99
While new subscribers will immediately be subject to the new prices, existing members with recurring fees will see the changes reflected in September. Xbox gamers with a basic subscription on their console can keep it until it expires, but will miss out on access to newly released games and exclusive titles for Ultimate subscribers.
The decision to raise prices and incentivize users to upgrade to a more expensive tier is seen as a response to the move to release Call of Duty on Game Pass. With the franchise selling over 425 million copies and generating billions in revenue, Microsoft’s strategy to attract more subscribers and increase revenue through Game Pass seems to be a calculated one. Observers speculate on whether Microsoft will introduce higher tiers or other monetization techniques to offset the cost of offering blockbuster titles on the platform.
