There’s no doubt about the value that Xbox Game Pass currently offers as a subscription service. Microsoft keeps updating the catalog with new games every month, and many of them arrive “Day 1,” meaning they are available as soon as they are released to the market.
With this in mind, none of us were surprised by the price increase that Xbox Game Pass had this past summer when all subscription models saw a price hike. However, Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division, has already mentioned that we should prepare for another price increase for Xbox Game Pass in the future.
During the Tokyo Game Show, Spencer reaffirmed in an interview with Game Watch that it’s “inevitable” for Game Pass to increase in price. He said, “While the primary goal is to provide greater value, I think it’s inevitable that prices will increase in the future. We recently raised our prices, but the decision was made after careful consideration. We believe it’s important to offer services that are recognized as having sufficient value even if prices go up.”
Continuing with the information about Xbox Game Pass, Spencer was asked about the possibility of Xbox Game Pass coming to other consoles or even to Steam. The head of Xbox said that its arrival on “PlayStation and Nintendo is even more difficult than on Steam,” but he left the door open. He stated, “However, since we are also a publisher that releases titles for PlayStation and Nintendo, I think it’s important to think about how to offer those Xbox games on platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo.”
The extensive interview with the Japanese media is full of interesting details, such as Spencer mentioning that he will meet with Hideo Kojima next week to see how the development of his game with Xbox is progressing. Furthermore, he also emphasized that they are “working with Japanese creators to develop new games,” although these games cannot be announced at this time.
