In a recent survey that appeared on the forum website ResetERA (as spotted by Windows Central), It looks like the gaming giant, Microsoft is aiming at creating cheaper pricing tiers for its subscription service, Xbox Games Pass. According to the poster on ResetERA, a friend of theirs had been supposedly surveyed by Microsoft and was asked to give their views on two “hypothetical” subscription services, one of which would be for families and the other for singles at a discounted rate.
The new tier would impose certain limitations on gamers, such as integrated ads into the service and would be significantly cheaper than the current $10 fee. Here’s the screenshot that the poster included in the survey.
If the above image is actually real it would cost gamers around $3 and provide access to Xbox’s Online Service, the curret catalouge of games as well as access to newly released titles with a six month delay. Players would then need to view a personlized ad if they choose to access a first party game via this tier While querying such a direction is no indication that it will happen for sure, it does reminat the words of Phil Spencer who said during a WSJ Live interview that the PC version of Games Pass is experiencing incredible growth, which the console side of the business is slowing down.
“I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe,” he said.
This then does make sense that Microsoft cosiders other avenues to make money off it’s console base.
What Microsoft would need to consider is if the $3 tier would siphon customers from it’s pe-existing $10 tier or it’s $60 yearly option (essentially costing players $5 per month) Would the potential ad revenue make up for this deficit? Up until now we can only speculate. It may actually be the case that Microsoft scraps the idea all together. Up until now we will have to wait and see.
In other Microsoft news, the compay has recently filed a patent for a cloud-based gaming service that is said to offer enhancments on the fly to older games. This new technology will make it easier for newer hardware to run older games while easing the demand for remakes and remasters.
