“Disappointing, but Not Unexpected”- Fans Express Distaste as Microsoft’s Xbox Announce Massive Raise in the Price of All First-Party Games in 2023

In the world of gaming, one of the biggest and most influential names in the console market is Microsoft’s Xbox. It has a dominating presence in the industry, which is only rivaled by Sony’s PlayStation and the Japanese Juggernaut Nintendo Switch. 

Microsoft’s gaming console has been one of the forerunners of the industry for a long time. Their innovation in gaming hardware and development has a significant role in the development of the modern gaming scene. Xbox’s considering approach toward its consumers is also a remarkable trait of the company.

But that reputation became somewhat lax in the recent time as the gaming giant has announced that they are planning for a hike in the prices of their first-party games. Some of the biggest upcoming titles will be the first to reflect these changes. 

Microsoft’s plans for the prices of Xbox first-party games

At the beginning of the year 2023, first-party games developed for the Xbox Series X|S will witness a hike in price. This will include big titles such as Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield. All of these games will cost around $70 at their launch. This is almost a $10 hike compared to the standard. Depending on the region, the prices are subject to variation as well. 

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According to a Microsoft spokesperson’s statement to IGN, “This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles.” They also added, “As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.” Getting these games mainly from the Game Pass subscription may become a considerable choice for fans in the upcoming year. 

This change in the first-party game prices is not very surprising, as the head of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Phil Spencer had once stated, “I do think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things.” The Xbox head revealed the reasoning behind it being, “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games, and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever.“

Xbox is not the only game publisher that announced hikes in their game prices in the upcoming years. Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive had also revealed that in the near future they will be distributing their games for a price tag of $70. 

Fans gave their honest reaction to this announcement 

Fans weren’t very pleased with this hike. Some of them aggressively criticized the game publisher, while some of them accepted the change in return for good quality games.  

What is your take on this price hike by Microsoft? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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