It was coming, it was just a matter of time. In 2023, Microsoft will increase the prices of its exclusive top-tier games developed for Xbox Series X | S. The Redmond company itself confirmed the news, which will affect the new Xbox Games Studios titles and will initially impact proposals such as Starfield, redfall and the next installment of the saga Forza Motorsport.
As for the increase itself, it will be $10. In this way, the next top-tier Xbox games will cost $69.99 at launch, and not $59.99 as before. What will not change is that they will continue to be available from day one on Xbox Game Pass, both on consoles and on PC and mobile devices. Although for now it is unknown if the company also plans to adjust the price of its subscription service.
For now, it is unknown how the price increase will impact outside the United States. From Xbox they have commented that regional prices may vary, but did not give further details about it. “We’ve kept the price increases until after the holidays so families can enjoy the gift of games. […] This price reflects the content, scale and technical complexity of these titles,” they said from the company.
Xbox raises the price of its exclusive releases by $10
As said at the beginning, the increase of 10 dollars in the price of exclusive releases for Xbox Series X | S it would happen sooner or later. Sony already offers PS5 titles for $70, while other publishers like Take-Two and Ubisoft have made similar decisions over the past year. And let’s not forget that Valve recently updated the suggested prices for Steam games.
To all this we must say that Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, had opened the umbrella at the end of October. Already by then, he had assured that they could not keep prices as they were forever. “We have maintained the price of our console, we have maintained the price of the games and our subscription. I don’t think we can do that forever. I think that at some point we will have to raise some prices on certain things, “she had warned at the time.
The statements were not casual, of course. In August, those from Redmond chose not to increase the price of the Xbox Series X | S, when Sony did with the PlayStation 5. But they had already left the door open to review the determination if necessary. It remains to be seen if the increase in Xbox-exclusive games is a first measure with a similar increase in hardware in mind as well.
For now, we will be waiting for news. It is clear that price increases are not to everyone’s liking, especially when Microsoft hasn’t released an exclusive AAA game in all of 2022. Furthermore, in the case of Starfield the blow feels even stronger, considering the delays the game has suffered in reaching the public.