A very interesting part of xbox The news this week was the revelation that Microsoft’s new Xbox CEO asha sharma is considering making the company’s gaming subscription service Xbox Game Pass more economical. Specifically, it is reported to be exploring ways to offer “lower price tiers” to make memberships “more attractive to a broader range of customers.”
For many, this is an exciting prospect, especially because the main price increases that came into effect last year were extremely controversial and alienated many users from PC Game Pass and especially Ultimate Xbox Game Pass. The monthly price of the former increased from $11.99 to $16.49, and the latter jumped from $19.99 to $29.99.
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You can supplement cost levels as much as you want, but in the face of headless leadership and worker insecurity, relying on affordable quality content is folly outside of the independent realm. In other words, now is the worst time to make quality games at low cost, or expensive games with stars.March 25, 2026
When asked why it was bad to try to offer quality games at a low cost, Douse responded that “There’s an Austin Powers quote about a gold toilet,” referring to this: “And I want a toilet made of solid gold, but it’s not in the cards right now, is it?” In other words? It’s just not feasible.
If I’m reading Douse’s stance correctly (I think I am), it sounds like he’s arguing that with the gaming industry as volatile as it is now, making games (and services like Game Pass) too cheap or too expensive will result in an unsustainable business that won’t make enough money to recoup costs and turn a sizable profit. (Game Pass reportedly is profitable…but is it profitable enough?)
“Content is and always will be king, but costs skyrocketed and erry1 was laid off,” he said. aggregate in a follow-up post. “The powers that be did not create the economic reality for sustainable quality content within that model. Now even less so. Bottom-up economics is (good).”
Now, to be clear, I agree with the central point Douse makes. That said, I think Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s current price of $29.99 a month is too expensive and has ultimately made it much less justifiable in many budgets, especially considering how tight money has become for many in recent years.
With that in mind, I’d like to see a price reduction for Ultimate, or at least a less expensive tier similar to the old Ultimate which removes some of the newer benefits that many probably won’t use, such as access to the Fortnite Crew. However, I don’t think we need tiers cheaper than the $9.99 Game Pass Essential or the $14.99 Game Pass Premium.
All in all, it is an interesting discussion. However, before doing it yourself, douse urges taking into account the broader context of the industry: “Before anyone answers, let’s first consider the massive layoffs, exploding development costs, shrinking disposable income, stagnant hardware sales and ambition, and then make an argument.”
🗨️ Do you think Game Pass needs price adjustments?
Larian Studios’ Michael “Cromwelp” Douse’s take on Xbox Game Pass pricing raises a good point that finding the right balance between “underrated” and “overrated” is key, and that it’s not always a good idea to reduce the price of a service just because it’s struggling to grow.
Do you agree with his point or do you think Microsoft should look at cheaper ways to offer Game Pass access to customers? Would you subscribe to Game Pass if there were more affordable tiers available that still offered good value?
I’d love to hear your opinion, so share it in the comments and vote in our poll:
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