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Xbox Game Pass: Microsoft finally responds to price hike rumors

Since the takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, the question of the price of the Xbox Game Pass subscription remains suspended: will it increase? will not increase? Asked about the subject, Phil Spenser, the boss of Xbox, gives a rather evasive answer.

Xbox Game Pass
Credit: Xbox

No need to be a connoisseur of the workings of the video game industry to understand how much the Xbox Game Pass offer is one of a kind. While the price of a simple game can now reach 80 euros, Microsoft provides a toy library of more than 3000 titles for… €12.99/month. A trifle, therefore, which has been phenomenally successful: at the start of 2022, the platform already has more than 25 million users.

An impressive figure which was achieved in particular thanks to a historic takeover. On January 18, 2022, the Redmond firm announced its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, one of the largest publisher and development studio in the world. After the shock came the worry. In view of the multiple cult licenses that will join the Xbox Game Pass, it seems inevitable for many that the price of the subscription will increase considerably.

The price of Xbox Game Pass won’t increase… yet

Until now, Microsoft has remained relatively silent on the subject, preferring to promise that Call of Duty will not become an Xbox exclusive. It was not until February 8 that Phil Spencer decided to speak. Asked by journalist Stephen Totilo about the possibility of a price increase, he replied: “I feel like I can’t prove it wrong. [Les gens demandent] when will the Game Pass price go up? “They buy all these studios. You know, it’s inevitable”. Even though it’s now, what, four years since we’ve increased it. »

Related: Xbox Game Pass — Here’s the list of games available in February 2022

A rather unsatisfactory answer, which prefers to recall that the price has been fixed for several years, rather than giving a clear vision of the future. Phil Spencer does try to dodge the question, but only manages to stay extremely vague. “What I can do is make the decisions that come our way and try to be explicit about our goals”he concludes. You have to trust. This, in short, is what the boss of Xbox replies.

On closer inspection, the price increase does not seem so inevitable. Initially, Spartacus, Sony’s upcoming competitor, will force Microsoft to be even more competitive. But above all, the Redmond firm has – literally – money to lose. At this price, Xbox Game Pass is not intended to be profitable. He is there to attract players to his stable.

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