Microsoft Gaming just made one of its biggest missteps since the Xbox One launch event – but we think Rockstar could turn help turn this one around.
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced changes to Xbox Game Pass. While they streamlined and simplified the tiers, everyone’s attention was rightly focused on Game Pass Unlimited.
Game Pass Unlimited’s Complete “360” Turnaround
Game Pass Ultimate just jumped in price from $ 19.99 to $ 29.99 per month. That amounts to roughly $ 360 a year!
As some fans figured out, this was clearly more expensive than the Xbox Series S launch price of $ 299. It’s a lot to ask, even for Xbox’s most loyal fans.
Arguing The Merits Of Game Pass Unlimited’s Price Hike
Microsoft has souped up all the features that’s coming to Game Pass Unlimited to justify the new rate. On top of everything subscribers already get, they are guaranteed 75 + day one games, including Day One for all Xbox Game Studios games.
They also added Ubisoft + classics to the subscription benefits from other subscription programs, including EA Play, Riot Games, Fortnite Crew, Overwatch, etc.
Microsoft spread cloud gaming to all Game Pass tiers. Game Pass Ultimate gets priority for shortest wait times, 1440p and highest bitrate.
The Reaction Microsoft Earned
The immediate backlash to this change has led to Game Pass subscribers cancelling at a rapid rate. Microsoft has yet to comment or confirm how many subscriptions got cancelled.
But we know this got bad because Microsoft’s support website got overloaded from all these cancellations.
While it’s easy to criticize Xbox and Microsoft here, we’ll point to how fierce the reaction has been from their own users above everyone else. Aside from the cancellations, they have been loudly making their voices heard to Microsoft.
There could have been a case to be made for people to pay $ 30 a month for Game Pass, in a better economy and market for gamers to take in all the benefits.
Microsoft isn’t fortunate enough to have tried this in a time where that was the case. But we can see the flip side of it; that Microsoft needs to raise their margins to justify everything they’ve invested in.
The Troubling Bigger Trends In The Industry
Mat Piscatella of Circana made some interesting points about where the industry itself is going on Bluesky:
Console gaming in particular is already a luxury hobby.
This is why we’ve been seeing shifts in younger and less affluent players to mobile and PC, particularly f2p.
He later followed up with this:
Been talking about this trend for years when it comes to games spending.
Why are there premium gamepads, $149 collector’s editions, Pro consoles and general rising prices?
Because the price-insensitive, affluent players are the ones doing more of the spending as everyone else shifts more to f2p.
Is Grand Theft Auto 6 Big Enough To Turn Game Pass Around?
And this brings us to the big hypothetical. A lot of gamers are willing to pay more than $ 60 for Grand Theft Auto 6.
In fact, a survey last August found that 1 in 3 Brazilians will pay $ 100 for the game. This isn’t just something you’re seeing online or from Americans.
If Grand Theft Auto 6 fans are willing to spend large amounts on the game, would they spend $ 30 a month on Game Pass to get it? We think Microsoft and Rockstar would have to sweeten the deal, but Grand Theft Auto might have the fandom for this that EA and Ubisoft don’t have.
Some things Rockstar could add would be GTA +, access to GTA RP servers, and maybe even self-hosting servers. Under this scenario, not everyone will come crawling back for a Game Pass subscription.
But those gamers who are invested in Grand Theft Auto 6 for the long haul will be coming. GTA RP developers in particular are sure to come in, such as the nopixel team.
While Microsoft might have to give up on a bigger number of Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, they could lean harder and raise the bar on what their highest tier should be. And they may end up making a new $ 20 tier that has everything that Game Pass Ultimate originally had.
For now, though, we could see Microsoft just turning back on their current plans to change Game Pass. It would certainly be interesting if they were planning a deal like this with Rockstar to reveal to us next year.
