Talking Point: Will Xbox Game Pass Get A Price Increase This Year?
By At the beginning of the month, Xbox declared a series of price hikes for its consoles, peripherals, and games across various regions, leading many to ponder if Xbox Game Pass would experience a similar fate.
Thankfully, that scenario hasn’t occurred yet; however, there remains apprehension that an increase in Xbox Game Pass pricing may be on the horizon. A significant factor contributing to this unease is that some titles on Xbox are set to rise to $80 soon, indicating that Game Pass users will receive even greater value from their Ultimate subscriptions when this happens.
Additionally, we have just witnessed a remarkably strong influx of new titles to Xbox Game Pass over the past six months. The quantity of fresh first-party games added has been astounding, and in April alone, we enjoyed a splendid assortment of both first and third-party titles—some of which are genuine contenders for Game of the Year!
Reflecting back, Xbox Game Pass last saw a price increase in July 2024, when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate moved from £12.99 / €14.99 / $16.99 monthly to £14.99 / €17.99 / $19.99 per month. Since it’s been under a year since that announcement, it would certainly not be ideal for them to declare another hike in 2025.
Nonetheless, Microsoft is focused on profitability and will set prices based on what consumers are willing to pay. The positive aspect may be Xbox Cloud Gaming and the entire “this is an Xbox” marketing initiative—pricing people out of cloud gaming could clash with the message Xbox aims to communicate. Also, we must consider the anticipated Xbox handheld, which will likely emphasize PC Game Pass significantly.
In my opinion, I don’t believe we will see an Xbox Game Pass price increase in 2025, which likely means they’ll announce one soon thereafter. Let’s hope that’s not the case! Fingers crossed we’ve seen the end of price increases for this year!
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