While former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida is full of praise for Microsoft's call to put Xbox's best and brightest on the PS Store, the decision to raise the price of Xbox Game Pass is something he doesn't "understand."
Microsoft recently announced a price hike for Xbox Game Pass, with the highest tier going from $20 per month to $30 as part of a broader re-evaluation of the service. It hasn't gone down well, with even other former video game executives questioning the choice. Even an Xbox co-founder called it a "betrayal" in a longer commentary on the state of Microsoft.
Now, Yoshida has added his name to the detractors, despite enjoying the overall approach from Xbox for the time-being.
"It looks like they all shifted their strategy to PC and that's great, you know, that makes sense. They have the Windows system as well, and then they have gone multi-platform, right?" he told the Friends Per Second podcast. "Microsoft is the biggest publisher on the PlayStation platform, I think."
He's right - data from Naella has Microsoft as the largest purveyor of pre-orders and early installs on the PlayStation Store for the first three months of 2025. An impressive feat considering they're apparently rivals.
"They have really invested in Game Pass. I don't understand why they have raised the price of Game Pass so much," he adds. "They have totally gone their own way in terms of platform strategy."
His bemusement reflects general sentiment. The announcement spurred a surge in cancellations, and it's remained a topic for discussion. Only time will tell if this pays off, and how Microsoft will react afterward.
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