Xbox Boss Says Price Hikes Are Coming for Consoles and Games

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the company will have to consider raising the prices on consoles, games and subscriptions at some point, but not until after the holidays. This comes just a month after Xbox criticised Sony for raising the price of PS5 consoles in several regions around the world, as well as previously being one of the few publishers to stay away from the $70 price increase for its games.

Speaking with WSJ Tech Live recently, Spencer discussed potentially raising the price of Xbox Series X/S consoles and the $70 price point for games, which is becoming a new standard now after Microsoft’s rival company Sony and many other publishers adopted it. The price increases will not only affect consoles and games, but possibly subscription services too. This could indicate a price hike for Xbox Game Pass subscriptions as well.

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Spencer responded to the potential price hike of Xbox’s hardware and software, stating:

“I think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things. but going into the 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’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things…”

After Sony revealed that it was raising the price of PS5s, Xbox and Nintendo both responded that they had no intention of raising the prices on consoles and games. Turns out they forgot to add the “for now” part.

In the same interview, Spencer also mentioned that Xbox Game Pass’ growth is slowing down on consoles, but picking up on PC. “I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe,” said Spencer.

Prepare for Xbox price hikes for consoles, games and subscriptions but only after the holiday season.

Source: WSJ Tech Live (via Tom Warren)