According to some Xbox Game Pass subscribers on social media, the recently announced price hike won't impact users in certain regions. While Microsoft has not been particularly transparent when it comes to the subscription service's new pricing model, the official announcement made it seem that all users would be impacted, regardless of location. However, some users claim to have received email correspondence stating that Xbox Game Pass will not see an increase in price in their region, leaving a large portion of the community baffled.
Last week, Microsoft announced that the price of Xbox Game Pass' Ultimate tier would be increased from $19.99 per month to $29.99. While this is far from the service's first price hike, it's certainly the steepest, prompting outrage online and inspiring many users to quickly cancel their membership. According to Microsoft, the new pricing would immediately impact new subscribers, with current subscribers having until November 4. While the announcement didn't make any reference to specific regions, some users now claim that the price hike won't be impacting their area.
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Xbox Game Pass Subscribers in Some Regions May Not Be Impacted by the Service’s Recent Price Increase
In a new Reddit post, a Polish user shared a message from Microsoft stating that the Xbox Game Pass subscription price would only increase in their region for new purchases, and not for recurring plans. In the comments, some quickly speculated that this may have to do with European law, but this theory fell through when other EU subscribers noted that they hadn't received the same message. Microsoft has yet to officially reveal a list of regions not impacted by the price increase, but comments in the thread suggest that subscribers in India, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Brazil may be able to lock in the previous pricing, so long as they stick with their current plan. Unfortunately, immediately after the price hike was announced, thousands of Xbox Game Pass users rushed to cancel their subscriptions.
The reason for the Xbox Game Pass price increase remains somewhat of a mystery, with recent comments from Microsoft failing to shed much light on the situation. Dustin Blackwell, the director of gaming and platform communications at Microsoft, simply said that the company was striving to add "more value" to the service. The former US Federal Trade Commission chair, Lee Hepner, condemned the move.
Along with this unfortunate news regarding Microsoft's subscription service, the company recently responded to rumors that the next-gen Xbox console may be canceled. As Xbox shifts away from console exclusivity, many have speculated that Microsoft will shift its focus away from hardware in the future. However, the company has shot down this claim, stating that it is still actively investing in its follow-up to the Xbox Series X/S.