Microsoft has officially announced an increase in price for their own titles.
Thanks to the new generation of consoles, the graphics and performance of games has reached new heights. But development costs have also increased. With this in mind Microsoft has now announced that their AAA titles’ prices will increase from formerly $59.99 to now $69.99.
Xbox Games Price Increase: Why?
Microsoft issued this statement to defend their decision:
We’ve held on price increases until after the holidays so families can enjoy the gift of gaming. Starting in 2023 our new, built for next-gen, full-priced games, including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield, will launch at $69.99 USD on all platforms. This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles. As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.
Though games are getting more expensive, Microsoft has until now not changed the price for the Xbox Series X/S consoles. But it remains to be seen if it’s going to stay that way.
At the end of October Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer already hinted at the price change during a WSJ Tech Live conference. According to him the company has held their prices on consoles, games and subscriptions, but he didn’t think they’d be able to do that forever.
But some of the great games coming this month are still worth it at $70:
Situation In The Industry
The news from Microsoft isn’t that surprising when you look at the competitors. Sony already increased their games’ prices 2 years ago to mostly $69.99 and the PS5 had a price bump this summer. On the other side Nintendo games cost less, but the Switch isn’t as powerful as the Xbox and an older console.
So to summarize, the price increase has been on the horizon for a while now, and it's finally happening, which somewhat evens the playing field between Microsoft and Sony.