Phil Spencer Hints At Xbox And Game Pass Price Hikes
The last couple of months have seen plenty of arguments in the gaming community, as PlayStation has made the bold decision to bump the price of both versions of the already expensive PS5 consoles.
It seemed that the entire industry turned its nose up at the news, though we could have anticipated it, what with the cost of everything soaring - and even other gaming companies were quick to comment on it. Most notably, Xbox was quick to state that it had no plans to increase the price of its hardware. Well, it looks like Phil Spencer has changed his mind pretty quick.
Xbox Hints At Price Hike
Click to enlargeAt a recent Wall Street Journal Live event (via The Verge), Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke mainly about the Game Pass and revealed that the service is now profitable, flying in the face of its doubters. "I think it will stay in that 10-15% of our overall revenue, and it's profitable for us," he said.
It's certainly good news for Xbox - but Spencer followed up with news that might make fans fume. "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, but going into this holiday we thought it was really important that we maintain the prices that we have." Uh oh.
When Could We Expect An Xbox Price Hike?
News of a potential Xbox price hike really isn't ideal, especially as the company is offering the budget avenue into the current generation of gaming with the Xbox Series S - but at the very least, we know that this year is safe.
We'd doubt it'd be as immediate a decision as it seemed that PlayStation made with its PS5 consoles - so maybe as early as mid-2023, we could see a more expensive Xbox Series family on shelves, and even a hiked Game Pass too.
We know that Microsoft never makes a profit on consoles, but with news that Spencer is coining it, the maths isn't quite adding up with many benefits for the consumer. It's a shame, but it's practically unavoidable, as Xbox are a company at the end of the day, and they'll be prioritising their profits. Get your Series S now before you have to pay extra for it.
