Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested that a Xbox Series X|S price increase, in addition to an Xbox Game Pass price increase, may be coming sooner than later. At the WSJ Live conference, Spencer has stated that Xbox will continue held the price points for its games, consoles, and subscriptions for the upcoming holiday season. But after that, we might see the prices go up, despite what Microsoft said in August.
Xbox Game Pass is still “profitable” for now
According to a transcription from Verge editor Tom Warren, Phil Spencer doesn’t believe the Xbox ecosystem will be able to sustain its current prices indefinitely:
I do think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices. We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games… and our subscription. I don’t think we will be able to do that forever.
A part of the reason behind a supposed price increase is due to the slowing growth of Xbox Game Pass on consoles. While the subscription service is “profitable” for the company and comprises 10 to 15 percent of its overall revenue, subscription growth on Xbox consoles has diminished because he says that “at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe.” That said, it has seen “incredible growth” for PC Game Pass by comparison.
