Xbox Game Pass price increase gets players angry

Fans have reacted angrily after Microsoft announced price increases to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

The company announced that the most popular tier of its Netflix-style video games system – available to PC and Xbox players – would rise by more than 50% from £14.99 to £22.99 per month.

Reacting on social media, loads of fans said they had cancelled their Game Pass subscriptions, with some reporting the service’s cancellation page had crashed due to demand.

BBC Newsbeat has asked Microsoft if the outage was linked to a surge in visits.

In a blog post detailing the changes to Game Pass, Microsoft said it would offer three tiers – Essential (£10 per month), Premium (£14.99) and Ultimate (£22.99).

The basic package is required for anyone wishing to play online multiplayer, and the more expensive versions give access to a wider range of games and perks.

Ultimate – the most expensive tier – allows players to access new games from Microsoft-owned studios on the day of their release.

These titles, which include series like Call of Duty, can retail for about £70 if purchased individually.

As part of the changes, blockbuster games including Hogwarts Legacy and various Assassin’s Creed entries have been added to the Game Pass library.

Microsoft said the new system would “offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players”.

But not everyone sees it that way.

Ed Nightingale, deputy news editor of website Eurogamer, tells Newsbeat the popularity of gaming subscription services has increased in recent years.

According to stats from the UK’s Entertainment Retail Association, Game Pass and Sony’s similar PlayStation Plus offering saw growth in users last year.

“Games nowadays are just more expensive,” says Ed. “Everything is going up in price at the moment.

“It’s a lot cheaper for consumers to buy a subscription service than individual games.”

When Game Pass first launched, it was pitched as “the best deal in gaming”, though critics questioned if it would be able to keep prices down as costs of game development increased.

Ed wonders if players are starting to agree that it’s “too good to be true”, and worries game companies risk pricing customers out of the hobby.

“Over the course of a year it’s really expensive,” he says.

“It is a huge price increase.

“They want to be the favourites of gamers but this feels quite anti-consumer by putting the price up.

“Microsoft are shooting themselves in the foot here.”

The company has insisted Game Pass makes a profit, and said last year was its best ever in terms of revenue from subscriptions.

Microsoft had already announced plans to increase prices of its Xbox consoles, accessories and games this year.

The move was linked to US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, although Microsoft never confirmed this, blaming “market conditions” and the rising cost of game development.

Sony gave a similar reason when it increased the price of certain PlayStation 5 models.

Nintendo, which released its Switch 2 console earlier this year, increased the price of some accessories, and has also been criticised over the price of its flagship new releases.

Microsoft also cancelled some gaming projects earlier this year, as part of 9,000 layoffs across the entire company.

Price increases and job losses have been linked to its plans to spend billions on artificial intelligence.

BBC Newsbeat has approached Microsoft for comment.

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