XBOX Game Pass Price Hike Cost Microsoft Millions, Recent Fix Is “Building A Stronger XBOX”

Earlier in the spring, Microsoft redressed the entire meaning to XBOX Game Pass. It was announced that XBOX Game Pass Ultimate would reduce its pricing to $22.99. Alongside a PC Game Pass price drop too, Call of Duty would be excluded from day-and-date releases for the first year it launches. It was reported that Microsoft was losing roughly $300 million with the inclusion of Call of Duty being on the subscription.

Other details that came from the decision behind XBOX Game Pass was revealed back in October. The leadership before Asha Sharma touted that the decision would “provide them with more of what they’re asking.” On top of that, Microsoft also made the decision to remove the option for its XBOX Rewards to redeem XBOX Game Pass subscriptions that only worked against the brand.

As a result, there was a biblical shift in support for XBOX Game Pass. At The Game Business Live at Summer Game Fest this week, new XBOX chief strategy officer Matthew Ball shared that the service was met with a fallout in active subscribers in the “millions,” he expressed. XBOX boss Sharma also elaborated on the response to the current Game Pass Ultimate pricing that went into effect.

“Growth slowed down and subscriber loss accelerated after the pricing and SKU changes last year… Since our price reduction we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step,” Sharma said in a internal memo obtained by The Verge. “We will not solve this in one moment or one launch, We will have to outwork the problem in front of us in our path to restore durable growth.”

Sharma also elaborated on the direction planned for the platform as well. “We are building a stronger XBOX. That means making hard choices about what we build, where we invest, and what kind of company we need to be going forward, that is part of what you are starting to see in the shift from Xbox to XBOX. It reflects a decision to be deliberate in how we show up for the players who care most about this brand.”

Are you surprised the turnaround for XBOX with the recent changes to Game Pass?

Source: GameSpot, The Verge