In December, Microsoft announced that all new games from Xbox Game Studios would be sold at an increased price. Now for Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield in the US, they will ask for $69.99 instead of the usual $59.99. In Europe, according to rumors, the cost of new products will rise to 80 euros.
As Phil Spencer explained, Microsoft did its best to keep prices down, but it was impossible to resist market realities forever. The changes are driven by a variety of factors, including the cost of manufacturing consoles, growing game production budgets, development challenges, and the general economic situation around the world.
At the same time, the cost of an Xbox Game Pass subscription remains unchanged.
“Price is something we look at very carefully, and it’s also something that touches consumers in the most direct way. When it comes to the whole platform, there’s a lot of things to consider. For example, the cost of the consoles themselves, the price of the games, the price of on subscriptions. Taking into account the current economic realities, in order for our business to continue its development, it was necessary to sacrifice something, “- said Phil Spencer.
Spencer also noted that other companies in the gaming market have long raised their prices for their games. In this plane, Microsoft was one of the last to make a decision .
“The important point is that we haven’t raised prices yet. Instead, players have only been informed that in 2023 the price tags for our AAA games in the US will increase from $60 to $70. We are far from the first to go for Moreover, other publishers and platformers have already not only announced price increases, but also started selling games at higher prices.
AdvertisementIn this case, we are the exception, because we held on as long as possible. Also noteworthy is the fact that we are proud of the value of our subscriptions and the presence of Xbox Series S consoles, which are the cheapest gaming systems of the current generation.
The decision to raise prices concerns the retail releases of our biggest titles and is driven by the rising cost of producing these very games, as well as the need to create an environment in which we can continue to delight customers for the foreseeable future,” concluded Phil Spencer.
Recall that the next major Microsoft releases should be Redfall and Starfield – they will start in the first half of 2023 and will immediately fall into the Xbox Game Pass.
