Xbox games, consoles and subscription prices will increase in the future, reveals Xbox head Phil Spencer
'We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games… and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. '
Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, has just revealed that Xbox prices could soon increase. Speaking at WSJ Tech Live, he also mentioned that PC Game Pass has witnessed “incredible growth” whereas the growth of Xbox Game Pass is slowing down. Spencer also claimed that Xbox Game Pass contributes “10-15%” towards the total revenue of Xbox.
Phil Spencer says Xbox consoles, games and subscription prices will increase
Spencer, as transcribed by The Verge journalist Tom Warren, said that Xbox console, game and subscription prices would eventually rise. He didn’t exactly specify which of these or if all of these categories would experience a price hike. When these prices will increase, was also not made clear. However, Spencer assured that the prices will not increase before the upcoming holiday period is over.
Spencer said, “I think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things”. He added, “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games… and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things…”
"We've held price on our console, we've held price on games... and our subscription. I don't think we'll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we'll have to raise some prices on certain things..." pic.twitter.com/jRt5ifKpE5
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 26, 2022
PC Game Pass experiences "incredible growth"
During the same interview at WSJ Tech Live, Spencer said, “I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe”.
Game Pass had over 25 million subscribers by January 2022, as per Microsoft. As for Xbox consoles, Microsoft mentioned in their filed documents sent as part of the UK’s investigation of their proposed Activision Blizzard deal that they have 63 million Xbox console users.
VGC reported that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last Tuesday on a web call that Game Pass usage has grown “across all platforms driven by the strength off console”. He also revealed, “PC Game Pass subscriptions increased 159% year-over-year, and with cloud gaming, we’re transforming how games are distributed, played and viewed. More than 20 million people have used the service to stream games to date.”