Microsoft recently announced that it would be increasing the price of its Game Pass Ultimate subscription from £14.99 to £22.99. This led to many users cancelling their subscriptions and taking to X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit to express their outrage. User Turbostrider 27 on Reddit exclaimed that "This Xbox Generation will be remembered for one thing: Greed." and "I think Xbox really over-played their hand here." The consensus is that this was a terrible move from Microsoft as the sales of their consoles (as reported by the London Evening Standard) have dropped year-on-year to nearly 50% (in specific markets.) Microsoft heavily relies on purchases through its in-game store, and more importantly, its subscription-based Game Passes, which provide a monthly/yearly stream of revenue.
"This Xbox Generation will be remembered for one thing: Greed."
'You’re grazing where you used to play. Rather than focusing on one or two favourite titles, you suddenly have a whole pile of things to look at with your limited gaming time. You might indeed try out an indie game that you wouldn’t have given a shot, but odds are good they’re not going to make as much money," says Alex Rowe from Medium. Xbox's Game Pass subscription has also gained a reputation as a graveyard for subpar and sometimes terrible games. If a game is a "Day One Game Pass Exclusive," it is now expected to be underwhelming. I don't expect Microsoft to back down from their decision to hike the price of their subscriptions, but it has seen the start of a new conversation surrounding the boycotting of subscription-based services such as Nintendo's "Nintendo Online" and Sony's "PS Plus".
In May of 2023, Microsoft's gaming CEO Phil Spencer even admitted that the company had lost the infamous 'Console War' and that their strategy was to move away from hardware to focus on subscription-based services, which has unfortunately not played out in their favour.