Xbox boss on avoiding Series X and Game Pass price increases: "I don't think we'll be able to do that forever"

News
By published

Xbox Series X may not stay $500 forever

Xbox Series X/S
(Image credit: Xbox)

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested Xbox Series X/S consoles and/or Game Pass will eventually see price increases.

Speaking at WSJ Tech Live 2022 (via Tom Warren of The Verge), Spencer touted the fact that Xbox Series X/S consoles, Game Pass subscriptions, and games themselves haven't yet seen price increases. However, he expects that to change at an unspecified point after the holidays.

"We've held price on our console, we've held price on games... and our subscription. I don't think we'll be able to do that forever," Spencer said. "I do think at some point we'll have to raise some prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices."

The current Xbox Series X price is set at $499 in the US and £449 in the UK, with the smaller, less powerful Xbox Series S available for $299/£249.99. Game Pass subscriptions range in price from $4.99 / £3.99 to $14.99 / £14.99 per month, while the standard price for AAA Xbox games is still around $70. Spencer's verbiage is almost certainly intended to muddy up exactly what might increase in price, but it sounds like it could be the consoles, Game Pass subscriptions, games, or all three.

As for the PS5 price, both the standard disk version and the digital version got modest price increases pretty much everywhere but the US earlier this year, primarily due to inflation. It remains to be seen whether the consoles will ever jump in price stateside.

"While this price increase is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business, our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 offers and what’s still to come," PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said at the time.

Here are the best Xbox Series X games to play right now.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.