PC and Xbox Game Pass they are basically the backbone of Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem and on which the gaming section led by Phil Spencer is focusing strongly. It’s not hard to see why: it gives you access to hundreds of games (over 500 on Xbox alone), including first-party productions from Microsoft, at a very affordable price. A service therefore captivating, if not practically indispensable, useful both for retaining users and for attracting new ones. The Game Pass in recent years has seen the number of subscribers grow, but perhaps not at the rate hoped for by Microsoft, which in 2023 could even be forced to raise prices of the service, which could slow down its growth.
Let’s proceed in order. In an interview made in October, Phil Spencer said that Microsoft may not be able to maintain stable prices for Xbox products, including consoles and Game Pass. The first price increases have already been confirmed: at the beginning of 2023, first party games will go from 70 to 80 euros on our shores.
The next step could be the Game Pass: in fact, the price of the subscription has practically remained unchanged since its launch, while instead the catalog only gets bigger from year to year. In the world of subscription services this is a rarity. For example, Netflix’s basic plan in the US has practically doubled since 2010. Clearly Microsoft has so far wanted to keep the Game Pass price stable precisely because it is its flagship service on which it is focusing to reduce the gap with PlayStation, but this may no longer be sustainable in the future, as confirmed by the same Spencer.
Actually most Game Pass subscribers could agree that at the moment the offer value is well above the cost of the current subscription. In short, any increase, if moderate, probably won’t make those already registered give up. The problem is all the others, that is all those Xbox players (let’s assume a few) and on other shores who have not yet discovered the Game Pass and who could desist from subscribing, thus slowing down the growth of the service.
Growth which by the way is less fast than desired by Microsoft itself. In October Spencer said that new Xbox subscribers are slowing down, while from the data shared with the British CMA, we learn that there are currently 25 million subscribers, whereas Microsoft was aiming for 35 million by the end of 2022. We are talking about 10 million subscriptions less than internal estimates.
A possible increase in the price of Xbox Game Pass in 2023 could therefore be inevitable, but also risky. In any case, Microsoft could (and should) offset the price increases increasing the appeal of its service. Like? First, with more pounding, targeted and less word-of-mouth marketing among subscribers. Secondly, clearly, the bulk is done by the catalog and therefore new additions of depth are needed, in particular internal productions. Fortunately in 2023, barring unforeseen events, the new Forza Motorsport and Starfield should arrive, just to name a few of the first party projects. Then there is also the acquisition of Activision Blizzard at stake: if it goes through, the Game Pass catalog would welcome Call of Duty, Diablo and all the other IPs of the Californian company over time.
And what do you think? Could a possible price increase for the Game Pass slow its growth? And how could Microsoft prevent this?
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