Xbox Game Pass ‘has become too expensive for players’, says new CEO in leaked memo
New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma believes Microsoft’s subscription model doesn’t offer enough value
💰 New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reportedly stated in a leaked memo that Xbox Game Pass has become “too expensive for players.”
👍 Sharma believes Microsoft needs to provide a “better value equation” for the subscription service
📈 The price of the highest tier, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, increased significantly last year to $30 per month
🤔 Long-term plans include evolving Game Pass into a more “flexible system” following testing and learning
There’s been a flurry of pleasing changes at Xbox since Microsoft replaced Phil Spencer with Asha Sharma as the new CEO, and a price cut for Xbox Game Pass could be next.
In a leaked memo shared by The Verge, Sharma reportedly admitted that Xbox Game Pass has become “too expensive for players” and that Microsoft needs to deliver a “better value equation”.
Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate significantly last year, and has introduced new tiers which only made what was once a simple to understand system needlessly convoluted.
The price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate increased by 50% to $30 per month, which Microsoft tried to offset by including more games, day one releases, and an improved version of Xbox Cloud Gaming.
However, it seemingly didn’t work, as Microsoft’s new CEO admits it’s become too expensive in the memo.
“Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation,” Sharma says in the leaked memo. “Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.”
Many speculated that adding Call of Duty into Xbox Game Pass is one of the biggest factors to why Microsoft raised the price of its subscription service.
Microsoft’s deal to purchase Activision Blizzard may have made it the biggest video game publisher in the world, but it hasn’t delivered a suite of unmissable games or many benefits for Xbox owners. The same can be said for its acquisition of Bethesda.
Whether an Xbox Game Pass price cut is coming remains to be seen, but it’s encouraging that Microsoft is at least aware that perhaps its new pricing model isn’t working as intended.
We’ve seen Sharma’s short reign introduce several improvements to the Xbox user experience and brand, including changes to Xbox Achievements and killing off the “This is an Xbox” ad campaign. Sharma also confirmed the existence of Xbox Project Helix.
Up next: How Xbox Game Pass went from ‘the best deal in gaming’ to the worst
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.