New Xbox head thinks Game Pass has become too expensive for players

We are six months on from Microsoft's big shake-up of the Game Pass services, introducing new tiers and raising prices across the board, including a 50% price increase on the Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Now, new Xbox head, Asha Sharma, is telling employees that Game Pass needs “a better value equation”. 

In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Sharma said that Game Pass is “central to gaming value on Xbox” but adding that “it's also clear that the current model isn't the final one”.

Right now, she says that Game Pass “has become too expensive for players”, and wants to transform the service to be more flexible in the future, but doing do will “take time to test and learn around”.

In its current form, Game Pass Ultimate is the only tier that offers day-one access to first-party games like Halo and Forza Horizon, and now costs £22.99 per month. Game Pass Premium is £10.99 per month and offers new exclusive games roughly one year after their initial launch. Finally, there is Game Pass Essential for £6.99 per month, which has a much more limited library of available games and grants access to Xbox Live multiplayer.

KitGuru Says: There was a lot of concern around the viability of Game Pass after the price hikes last year. Now, it sounds like the new Xbox lead is acknowledging that they pushed too far. I doubt the prices will come down anytime soon, but it does sound like there will be yet another Game Pass shake-up as we get closer to the next-generation Xbox system. 

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