Xbox First-Party Games Will Now Launch at $70: Microsoft plans to increase the price of its big new first-party games from $60 to $70, bringing it in line with other major game publishers.
Starting in 2023, Xbox Series X|S exclusive titles like Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will set you back $69.99 USD. Xbox has said that prices in other regions may vary, but the company has not yet revealed the specifics for additional nations.
“This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” according to a Microsoft representative.”As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.”
Although this price hike is to be expected, Xbox chief Phil Spencer did say earlier this year that the firm could not maintain its current rates indefinitely, but that Xbox would not boost prices before the 2023 Christmas season.
Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive have all set $70 pricing tags for some new titles, and Sony in particular has reportedly contemplated boosting that price even higher, so Xbox is not the first firm to do this.
Xbox will join other major games publishers in raising the prices of its major new first-party titles from $60 to $70 starting in 2023. https://t.co/5vYKubI4rc pic.twitter.com/cIDC6sjLIN
— IGN (@IGN) December 5, 2022
It’s unclear if this means the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will similarly increase in price. Nintendo has not ruled out raising the Switch’s price in the future, while the PlayStation 5 has already seen a price hike in a number of regions. Spencer reaffirmed in September that Microsoft has no intentions to increase the price of Xbox consoles in the wake of Sony’s announcement of a console price increase.
Spencer’s wording changed in October, though.“We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games, and our subscription,” His words”I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things.”