In a level of transparency we rarely see, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball, who only joined the company relatively recently, revealed the impact of Xbox's controversial 50% Game Pass price increase during an interview with The Game Business' Chris Dring.
I'm sure Xbox fans are all familiar with the topic by now. Nevertheless, last year, Game Pass Ultimate jumped to $29.99 per month, with the inclusion of Call of Duty helping to justify the higher price point. As many now know, that approach wasn't sustainable.
One of Asha Sharma's first major moves as Xbox CEO was to reduce the cost of Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 per month. The lower price did come with a notable compromise, though, as new Call of Duty releases were removed from the service's day-one lineup and instead arrive a year after launch.
While speaking with Dring, Ball revealed that Xbox lost "millions of subscribers" following the Game Pass price hike, which I'm sure was a devastating blow for the company at the time.
Fortunately for Xbox fans, that price point didn't last long. However, the current price is still higher than it was before the increase, even if it now includes additional perks such as Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics.
Personally, as someone who doesn't play Fortnite, I find it frustrating to be pushed into a higher-priced tier for benefits I neither use nor care about. I'd still love to see Xbox introduce a more customizable version of Game Pass, allowing subscribers to mix and match the features they actually want, rather than paying for a bundle that may include services they'll never touch.
It is, however, refreshing to see just how open and honest Xbox is right now. With exclusives back on the menu, the future of Xbox feels far more exciting than the complacent version of the company we'd grown used to seeing, at least that's how I feel about it.
With that said, let me know your thoughts on Ball's quote in the comments below, and be sure to take part in our poll!
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