Xbox Responds to New Game Pass Rumor That Has Subscribers Concerned
PlayStation seems content with angering players, but it’s not the only console maker that’s making big, widely despised moves, as Xbox has been in its share of hot water as of late. This streak has continued with rumors regarding potential changes to Xbox Game Pass and it possibly losing day-one games. And while Xbox doesn’t always respond to rumors or speculation, it has this time, which has caught the eye of some players.
Slayven, a mod on the popular forum ResetEra, posted said rumor on September 14th. They noted an ad-supported tier is incoming and will be $12.99 a month, while an ad-free tier will be $19.99 per month. While a price drop is big news, this is seemingly coming because Game Pass, if this rumor is accurate, will no longer have day-one games starting somewhere between February and April. It’s unclear if this just means first-party Xbox games or if that change means third-party developers, too.
According to Slayven, other changes include Game Pass family plans being an additional $5.99 a month, access to online multiplayer for those without Game Pass costing $10.99 a month, and how there will be a special $14.99 tier that gives players “ONLY access to GamePass library with online MP,” however, it is unclear exactly what that latter point means. Cloud streaming will also reportedly no longer be included in Game Pass and will be a separate bundle players that will cost an additional $5.99 for 25 hours of play.
If true, these are dramatic changes that would reshape the service. Games launching on Game Pass has been a huge, eye-catching feature and has helped it stand out over PlayStation Plus, its biggest competitor. While some games occasionally hit Plus on the first day, it’s rare, and first-party games don’t come to Plus often until years later. Former CEO and chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan noted in 2022 that doing so would not yield the “level of investment” required to fund these games and have a “knock-on effect on the quality.” Essentially, PlayStation thinks it needs the full revenue of a game’s launch sales if the company is going to continue making AAA titles at the scale it currently makes them at.
Xbox’s Vague Answer Is Potentially Telling
Companies don’t always respond to speculation or may give a generic response to it, but Xbox took a different route. Xbox gave Forbes writer Paul Tassi a statement that seems to talk to the current rumors.
“We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets. We don’t have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalized. There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one.”
Xbox notably didn’t shoot down the rumors and essentially said it is always testing strategies. Also, perhaps most notably, the statement explained how games previously announced as day-one titles for Game Pass Ultimate will remain unchanged. This includes games like Gears of War: E-Day, but, given the time frame of the rumor, is more aimed at Fable and Clockwork Revolution, two Game Pass games that would fall in or after the February to April window in the rumor. Some probably assumed these games may be taken off the service preemptively if these rumors were accurate.
It’s unclear how this will all play out. Xbox CEO has spoken about how Game Pass is too expensive, a statement that seemingly led to a small price decrease and Call of Duty no longer being a “day one on Game Pass” series. Cloud streaming was also recently downgraded and had a timer slapped on it, something that angered players. A report from earlier this year also noted how Game Pass would have an ad-supported tier in the future and is something Sharma herself seemed to have gestured at.
Xbox is tinkering a lot with its services, so more tweaks like the ones mentioned by Slayven aren’t out of the question. And it seems like these changes are being made to make it all more sustainable. Xbox also fell dramatically short of its Game Pass subscriber expectations. According to documents from the Activision acquisition, Xbox wanted 77 million subscribers by 2026. Flash forward a few years after those projections were made and it only has around 30 million. It also has failed to release console sales numbers, but projections have the Xbox Series X|S at around 35 million units, which is dramatically less than the 95 million PS5s that have been sold.
Sentiment around Xbox is divisive, and it’s not a given these alleged changes will be successful. Sharma’s leadership has led to PR “wins” associated with listening to the die-hards about exclusives and snatching up Kojima Productions’ Physint, but her reign has come with absolute devastation across Xbox’s developers. Multiple teams like Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory have been cut loose, while other studios have seen mass layoffs (and more are coming, too). Combined with an effort to boycott Xbox for Microsoft’s role in providing AI to Israel’s military as it attempts to commit a genocide, Xbox has a fairly odious perception now and it remains to be seen if any of these tweaks will do much to change that.
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