Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Pass Subscriptions Price Hike, Xbox Series X Price Adjustments Outside The US

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) has revealed its plans to raise the prices of Xbox Series X consoles in several countries, excluding the U.S., Japan, Chile, Brazil and Colombia, starting in August.

The tech giant will also implement the first-ever price increase for its Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, effective next month.

See Also: Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S Sales Decline By 30% Two Years After Launch

Kari Perez, head of communications for Xbox, addressed the price adjustments in a statement to The Verge: "We've held on our prices for consoles for many years and have adjusted the prices to reflect the competitive conditions in each market."

According to The Verge, the pricing of the Xbox Series X will have an impact on several countries: the U.K. will see a price of £479.99, while most European markets will have it priced at €549.99. In Canada, the cost will be CAD $649.99 and in Australia, it will be AUD $799.99.

It's worth mentioning that the price of the Xbox Series S will remain unchanged, with the 512GB model priced at $299.99 and the 1TB model at $349.99.

In addition to the console price increase, Microsoft will also raise the prices of its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass for Console subscriptions starting in July.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will see a rise from $14.99 to $16.99 per month, while the base Xbox Game Pass for Console subscription will increase from $9.99 to $10.99 per month. Notably, the pricing for PC Game Pass will remain unaffected.

Since its launch in 2017, Microsoft has maintained the same pricing for Xbox Game Pass. The company wants to emphasize that this price adjustment is unrelated to its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI).

"These Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and are intended to match local market conditions," Perez told The Verge.

These changes in pricing are in line with a broader trend of price increases observed in entertainment subscriptions over the past few years.

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