According to a brand new report, Microsoft is considering trekking fees for the Ultimate tier of its popular Xbox Game Pass subscription provider. The file from The Verge’s Tom Warren states that while no final decision has been made yet, better fees for the $16.Ninety nine in keeping with month Ultimate plan are being evaluated backstage.
If it takes place, it wouldn’t be the first Game Pass rate bump – the Ultimate tier noticed a more or less thirteen% boom lower back in July 2023 while it jumped from $14.Ninety nine to the current $sixteen.99 monthly price. How a whole lot more pricey Game Pass Ultimate ought to get this time around is unclear.
Call of Duty’s Game Pass Future in Doubt
But capacity fee hikes won’t be the most effective darkish cloud looming over Xbox Game Pass. The identical record claims Microsoft is having doubts about freeing destiny Call of Duty video games on the service from day one after acquiring Activision Blizzard remaining 12 months.
Many assumed including Call of Duty to Game Pass on release day might be a no-brainer consumer benefit from the $68.7 billion deal. However, Microsoft is now reportedly involved that freely giving Call of Duty for “loose” on Game Pass could significantly effect the juggernaut franchise’s big revenue stream.
Are Fewer Game Pass Releases on the Horizon?
Finally, the record shows Microsoft may start prioritizing multi-platform recreation releases over setting titles on Game Pass, either from day one or afterward. The enterprise has currently introduced some Xbox video games to PlayStation and Nintendo as properly.
This perceived strategic shift is supposedly geared toward improving Microsoft’s gaming profit margins amid concerns that the lengthy-term viability of Game Pass itself can be in question if growth maintains slowing.
Between rumored rate will increase, doubts over Call of Duty’s inclusion, and a ability deprioritization of new Game Pass releases, the subscription service might be headed for a few important modifications and hard waters in the coming months and years according to the document’s claims. Only time will inform what movements Microsoft ultimately makes.