The upgrade is here, and it is actually just an Xbox Game Pass price rise!
Microsoft’s monthly subscription model has been hit by yet another price increase.
But how much more is it going to cost, and is it really worth it in the end?
Xbox Game Pass Price Rise
In summary, no, I do not think this subscription model is worth the price tag. Because the Xbox Game Pass price rise is by a solid 50% for Ultimate.
This tier is part of the new three-tier system being standard, premium and ultimate. Which is very consumer-friendly, having subsections of tiers within a subscription model!
However, on standard you just get access to 50 games, online multiplayer and cloud service. Then premium bumps that list up to 200-plus games. Also including new Xbox-published games and the previous tier unlocks.
Lastly, Ultimate gets you over 400 titles and 75-plus day-one games a year with Ubisoft Plus and EA Play. The tiers range from 10 dollars a month to 15, then 30 bucks.
However, the Xbox Game Pass price rise is around 50% from what the value was worth last time. Although you can use this on both console and PC, some gamers are upset with the news. Of course nobody likes a price hike, but here it feels just a bit short-sighted.
Because now you are literally paying 360 dollars a year for the full access of titles and features. I mean, break that down realistically; that’s like four full COD games a year!
Surely at that price you just end up buying the games and actually owning them rather than a timed licence. Because what you get with Game Pass is merely a timed licence to play games until the timer runs out or your credit card!
Game Pass On That Please
The Xbox Game Pass price rise has come as a shock to supporters of the model. People who advocated for the subscription applauded its affordability, granting access to many games. Now though, it’s really not that much more affordable than just buying them.
Also there is the whole argument that the model itself is to blame for underperforming sales figures. But really, for big cranium geezers like myself, this is not a surprise; in fact, I am surprised they did not pull this trigger sooner.
Because the Game Pass price rise was due from day one due to the fact it made no money. Sure, a bunch of people bought it, but it does not change that in the end it didn’t really matter. The same way Netflix bleeds, so does Microsoft.
I do not have the figures nor the statistics, but my soul tells me that it really did not generate that much revenue. Of course I am not defending it, far from it, as I view it poorly in general.
But from the perspective of business, yeah, giving you access to all these titles for nothing bought them nothing in sales returns.
In fact, I predict they will bump up the price in the future because Xbox are crying right now. Also just a tangent, but advertising an indie game I can buy for 15 dollars really is not going to sell me on the pass, Bill Gates!
