Microsoft Raising Prices for Xbox Series X and Game Pass in Majority of Countries
Microsoft has announced that the price of the Xbox Series X will be raised in most countries, except for the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia. Therefore, if you have been considering purchasing the console, it would be advisable to do so before the end of July.
Starting August 1st, the Xbox Series X will cost $650 in Canada, £480 in the UK, €550 in most European countries, and $800 in Australia. The increases are roughly in line with Sony’s PS5 price changes in most markets last year.
“We’ve held our console prices for many years and adjusted prices to reflect competitive conditions in all markets,” Kari Perez, Xbox’s head of communications, told The Verge. “These Game Pass price changes are unrelated to the Activision Blizzard contract and are intended to reflect local market conditions.”
The Xbox Series S price will remain the same in all markets at $250 (or local equivalent). Microsoft will soon introduce a black model with 1 TB of storage for $349.
Microsoft’s own studios no longer make games for Xbox One. If you don’t want to buy a Series X or Series S, you can still stream upcoming games like Starfield and Fable to the older console through Game Pass Ultimate. But guess what? The price of this service will also increase, including in the United States.
Xbox Game Pass will soon cost $11 per month, a $1 increase. Game Pass Ultimate is getting a bigger jump, from $15 a month to $17. The Verge has a list of price increases in other markets. The price of PC Game Pass (which doubled from $5 to $10 per month in 2020) will not change, while Xbox Game Pass will not increase in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Switzerland or Saudi Arabia.
The price changes will take effect for new Xbox Game Pass members on July 6. It only applies to existing subscribers until August 13th (September 13th in Germany). If you have access to Game Pass with an annual code, the price changes won’t affect you until it’s time for you to renew.
This is the first time Microsoft has raised Game Pass prices since it introduced the service in 2017 as part of its move away from Xbox Live Gold. Still, it was inevitable that prices would rise at some point. The importance of Game Pass to Xbox’s business model was undoubtedly a factor in the decision.
On the other hand, you might have expected the price of the Xbox Series X to go down at this point in its lifecycle, not up. Microsoft can’t be blamed for the console shortage – Xbox head Phil Spencer recently said the company has increased the Xbox Series X/S offering. Instead, Microsoft suggested that the increase in the Series X is due to market conditions such as inflation and currency fluctuations.
