Microsoft boosting prices on Game Pass subscription, Series X console
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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is raising the price of its highest-end game console in many markets, and boosting the cost of its subscription game service for the first time.
The console move was widely expected after rival Sony (NYSE:SONY) raised prices for its latest-generation PlayStation 5 console last year.
Microsoft's Xbox prices will remain steady in the U.S. (as well as Japan, Chile, Brazil and Colombia). But the company will boost the price of its top-end Xbox Series X to Â£479.99 in the UK; to â¬549.99 across most European markets; to C$649.99 in Canada; and A$799.99 in Australia beginning Aug. 1, The Verge reported.
The more budget-priced Xbox Series S will remain unchanged across markets, with a U.S. MSRP of $249.99.
And while the price of Xbox Game Pass has been unchanged since a 2017 launch, it's going the way of many other entertainment subscriptions that have seen increasing costs over the past couple of years.
The base Xbox Game Pass is rising to $10.99 per month from $9.99 in the U.S., and the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is rising to $16.99 per month from $14.99/month.
Similar price hikes will hit the Game Pass subscription in most markets with a few exceptions. The company stressed that the moves aren't related to its pursuit of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), The Verge noted: âThese Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and are intended to match local market conditions."
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