Xbox Game Pass price cut? Subscription is ‘too expensive’ says new Xbox chief

The new boss of Xbox says the company’s Game Pass subscription service is “too expensive” in a leaked memo to staff.

The memo seen by The Verge, Asha Sharma offered hope to Xbox gamers who feel priced out by the recent 50% price increase that took the top-tier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to $30/£35 a month. In the note to staff Sharma said the service – which does have a few other more affordable options – requires a “better value equation” for gamers.

“Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,” says the new head of Xbox, who took over from Phil Spencer in February. “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 report comes weeks after a piece in The Information which also offered insight into Sharma’s thinking on this matter. It reported that “future consoles and products like Game Pass more enticing to a broader range of customers.” Today’s leaked memo appears to confirm that.

Just this weekend, the well connected Windows Central reporter Jez Cordon reported that Microsoft is considering removing Call of Duty from the Game Pass entirely. That would certainly facilitate bringing the price down.

Microsoft angered gamers in October with an insane 50% price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to coincide with the launch of new Call of Duty as a Day 1 Game Pass release.

While Ultimate went up to $30 a month, the Premium tier still costs $15. That offers access to less games and no access to those big first party games for the first 12 months. EA Play and Ubisoft+ Classics are also absent, although gamers can stream select library games (plus those they own) from the cloud. GamePass Essential is $10 a month and offers access to only 50 games.