Xbox Game Pass May Now Be Cheaper, But It's About To Get Worse Too

Xbox Game Pass recently welcomed a price reduction, but it could soon see its free game library drastically cut.

It’s been a year of volatile highs and lows for Xbox.

Things appeared to be going well after Asha Sharma succeeded Phil Spencer as CEO in a surprise shift in leadership.

Sharma ended the controversial ‘This is an Xbox’ marketing campaign, reversed price hikes on Xbox Game Pass, brought back first-party game exclusivity, and doubled down on the importance of Xbox hardware.

These decisions all won back the faith and trust of long-time consumers, that was until earlier this month.

Following Xbox’s annual showcase in early June, which was a great success, the company announced a number of lay-offs.

Reports claimed that Compulsion Games and Ninja Theory would feel the brunt of the lay-offs, despite Ninja Theory having only revealed new game Senua a few days prior.

Since then, Xbox has hiked up the price of its six-year-old Series X and Series S hardware and, well, fans are as done with the company as they were prior to Sharma taking over.

That palpable dismay is only going to be made worse by the claim that Xbox Game Pass could soon offer less value for money.

Xbox Game Pass Will Cut Back On Third-Party Partnerships

When Sharma reversed the Xbox Game Pass price hike brought in under Spencer and Sarah Bond, it came with the caveat that Call of Duty games would no longer be offered as day one titles.

It now looks as if Xbox is being forced to assess where else it can save money when it comes to Game Pass.

As reported by ComicBook, Xbox insider eXtas1s claims that the company has issued a freeze on signing third-party games for Xbox Game Pass, seemingly for day one availability.

While Xbox Game Pass has long offered most first-party releases day one via the service’s most premium tier, it’s also offered plenty of third-party treats in recent years.

Mixtape is one recent example that was acquired by Xbox for day one Game Pass distribution.

Annapurna Interactive

It’s typically indie or mid-sized games that are scooped up. These teams are those most likely to need to weigh up the impact on sales due to Game Pass availability vs the offset of the upfront financial payment from Xbox.

eXtas1s claims that Xbox is seeking to completely reorganise its strategy and thinking which could signal fewer day one games going forwards.

READ MORE: PlayStation And Xbox Sales Hit 25-Year-Low As Nintendo Takes Over

It’s not the only way that Xbox could save itself some money. Regardless of whether a game is available on day one or not, Xbox will pay for a set tenure on Game Pass.

It could be six months, a year, 18 months, or anything really.

It’s very possible that Xbox could opt for more short-term contracts. These would come in much cheaper albeit, of course, at the expense of games not sticking around as long for players.

That could, in the long term, see the overall size of Xbox Game Pass’ catalogue shrink if Xbox was to be more selective with its third-party inclusions both when it comes to day one and availability periods.

Of course, do take all of this with a pinch of salt for now.

That being said, there will be financial reasons why Spencer and Bond raised the price of Game Pass because they’d likely have known how it would’ve gone down like a lead balloon.

Sharma’s reversal of the decision was welcomed but the removal of Call of Duty day one titles was only the first step of many in making Xbox Game Pass a cost-effective model.