Last year, Xbox Game Pass got a massive, 50% price hike that made the top tier of the subscription service a whopping $30 per month. New Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma seems to recognize that's a problem, according to a leaked memo which suggests she's keen to offer a cheaper – or at least "more flexible" option for players.
"Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox," Sharma says in an internal memo to Xbox employees, which was obtained and published by The Verge. "It's also clear that the current model isn't the final one. 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."
The Verge additionally reports that part of the reason for the massive Game Pass price hike was the decision to include Call of Duty with the subscription. It's worth noting that the prices increased just one month before the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, so the timing certainly feels meaningful.
It would ultimately be a weak sales year for COD, though you could guess at a million different reasons why. Maybe Game Pass did eat into sales. Maybe there was lingering malaise over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Maybe FPS fans were more on board for Battlefield 6. Or maybe people just didn't like Black Ops 7 all that much.
Microsoft attempted to justify the Game Pass price hike to consumers by citing additional day one releases, bonus Fortnite and Ubisoft subscriptions, and cloud gaming, but if Sharma's apparent comments are anything to go by, Xbox isn't fully satisfied with the results. Certainly, Xbox's most recent revenue reports haven't been particularly inspiring.
Xbox's popularity peaked in the middle of the Xbox 360 generation, and it's been losing ground to PlayStation ever since. At various points, I'm sure Microsoft bosses would've said that PlayStation isn't even their primary competition, but all the moves it's made to court new audiences – the Kinect, the entertainment box ambitions of Xbox One, and the push away from being a console brand in recent years – have served more to alienate the core audience than to bring in new fans.
Rebuilding that old brand value and community goodwill has clearly been a priority since the big executive shakeup earlier this year, which saw Sharma come in with big – but vague – promises about "the return of Xbox." The upcoming Project Helix console will likely be the most central factor in whether Microsoft can truly change the fortunes of its gaming division, but getting Game Pass prices under control wouldn't be so bad, either.
If you're trying to save some money now, here are the best Xbox Game Pass deals currently available.
