Xbox Game Pass subscribers slam price increase and 'embarrassing offerings’

Last week, it was officially confirmed that the price of Xbox Game Pass is going up, making gaming significantly more expensive for Xbox fans.

There’s no doubt that Xbox Game Pass gives you a lot of bang for your buck - as well as the expansive library of games to choose from, subscribers are constantly getting access to major day-one releases. Starfield, which seems likely to be one of 2023’s game of the year contenders, will be available to play on Game Pass from the moment it releases on 6 September.

Check out the story trailer for Starfield below.

Even so, no one is ever going to be happy about being forced to pay more than they’re used to for something, and as ComicBook reports, Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Reddit have been expressing their frustration at the upcoming price increase, with a number of gamers shocked that the change is happening now when recent offerings, such as Arkane’s disastrous first person shooter, Redfall, have been questionable.

“Expected but still sad. Especially since [in my honest opinion] the quality of the service [has] got worse,” UncleObli commented. “It's crazy how they have the audacity to raise prices with the embarrassing offerings they've been adding,” InPatRileyWeTrust wrote. “2023 has been a disaster for Xbox so far so I am very surprised they chose to announce this now. Are they trying to lose even the few customers who still show goodwill towards them after Redfall, Halo, weak Game Pass releases and delays?” questioned dazzzzzzle.

It's worth noting that the price increase doesn’t apply to PC Game Pass. However, on consoles, standard Game Pass is increasing from £7.99 to £8.99 in the UK, €9.99 to €10.99 in most of Europe, and $8.99 to $10.99 in the United States. The pricier Game Pass Ultimate is going from £10.99 to £12.99 in the UK, €12.99 to €14.99 in most of Europe, and finally $14.99 to $16.99 in the United States. New subscribers (those not paying for Game Pass already) will need to start paying this price from 6 July, whereas existing subscribers will be unaffected until 13 August (unless you live in Germany, where the increase will go live from 13 September).