Microsoft have landed themselves in some hot water of late, upping the price of their next-gen first-party games for Xbox Series X and S.
Remember the good old days when a game would release at one allocated price point? No hassle, no fuss, just top quality gaming. Recently, industry heavyweights Microsoft have announced that they would be increasing the price of their next-gen first-party games for the Xbox Series X and S, with an exec suggesting that the issue is more “complex” than punters would initially imagine.
Appearing on the Real Deal podcast, general manager of games marketing at Xbox, Aaron Greenburg brought up the Xbox Series X and S ecosystem of features as alternatives, including Smart Delivery and Game Pass.
“What you’ve seen from us is we want to put gamers first,” Greenburg told the podcast. “Our commitment and how we’ve approached this whole generation is […] we’re not going to make you pay again for next-gen versions of our games, we’re doing Smart Delivery […] we’ve tried to be fan-first in every way that we can.”
During the podcast, the Xbox exec assured fans that this price increase may just be a one-time thing, noting that upcoming Xbox Series X and S releases Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, and Dirt 5 are all slated to drop at $60 (US). On the other hand, rivals Take-Two Interactive and Sony have also announced that they will be hiking the price of some of their next-gen titles.
“In the old days, every game launched at one price and that was it,” Greenburg said. “But we launched Ori And The Will Of The Wisps at $30, and Gears Tactics is a new title launching this holiday and it’s launching at $60. State Of Decay 2 launched at $40. So there’s not a simple answer to that.”
“We’ve really taken a fan-centric approach, first with Smart Delivery, and most importantly, you get all our games at launch with Game Pass. So does the price of a game even matter, if it’s included in your Game Pass subscription?”
The Xbox Series X and S are slated for release November 10th.
