Xbox Game Pass Experiences a Decline in Quality
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Xbox Game Pass: The Beginning of the End or a New Era?
Here's the lowdown on Microsoft's dreaded overhaul of Xbox Game Pass. It's a hot mess, ya'll.
This week, the technology giant took a sledgehammer to Game Pass' pricing structure, leaving it in ruins. But, let's be real, this ain't the first time an app or streaming service has gone down this crappy road. When companies start jacking up prices and purging common features, it's usually just the beginning of a long fall into shittiness.
Microsoft announced its changes in a flurry of emails to Game Pass customers, causing quite the stir. Even an FAQ couldn't quell the confusion over their new payment plan. What's up first? The axing of Game Pass for Console for anyone joining the club after July 10. The newbies now have to pay more for subscriptions, starting at July 10.
Stateside, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will jump from $17 to $20 per month. Game Pass Core will cost an extra $15 annually if you opt for it. PC Game Pass is getting a $2 bump to $12 a month. A new Game Pass Standard tier for $15 a month is on the horizon, but don't hold your breath — it's not coming any time soon. That tier is just replacing Game Pass for Console.
In mid-September, existing members will see the new rates on their bills. But gird your loins, we're not done yet.
Microsoft is now changing the game when it comes to what you get depending on your subscription tier. Game Pass Ultimate is the only one that allows cloud gaming, but if you cheap out with the Game Pass Standard option, you can kiss day-one first-party games goodbye — just like with the previous Game Pass for Console tier. So yes, that means Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be off-limits if you're a new standard subscriber.
If you still have Game Pass for Console or PC Game Pass, you'll still get day-one games. Game Pass Core is still the least sexy option, mostly for online multiplayer, but Game Pass Standard seems like a raw deal compared to the current offerings. Without shelling out for Ultimate, you won't have access to day-one games on the Xbox Series X or Series S.
The new tier structure is a joke. It expects new and existing customers to dig through mountains of bullet points just to understand what they're paying for. Netlix might be simplifying its tier structure by nixing the Basic subscription and forcing users to choose between Netflix with Ads or Standard, but at least with these options, you still get the same content. That luxury is no longer on the table for Game Pass.
So, What's the Future Looking Like for Game Pass?
Just in case you weren't paying attention, "enshittification" is a term tech blogger Cory Doctorow coined to describe tech companies screwing over users to boost profits and screw over investors. The word has been popping up more and more in recent years, particularly with popular social media apps. If you've struggled with digital concert tickets or restaurant reservations, you know the drill.
But enshittification isn't inevitable — just consistent. Microsoft has been trying to push Game Pass for a few years now, so much that its hardware seems to have taken a backseat. In fact, Microsoft recently announced a more expensive Xbox Series X with 1 TB storage as its big hardware release for the first half of 2024.
According to The Verge's Tom Warren, quoting anonymous sources, Microsoft is scaling back Xbox sales in Europe. Rumors have been swirling that Microsoft would try to get Game Pass on competing consoles. Last week, Amazon and Microsoft declared that you can now play cloud gaming titles on a few Fire TV sticks, meaning you don't even need a smart TV or computer to access the Xbox app and play the wide selection of streaming titles. Xbox head Phil Spencer let it slip that "No console? Don't be scared."
But the expansion hasn't been enough to recoup the $69 billion spent on the Activision Blizzard buyout. The company laid off close to 2,000 staff from its newly-purchased studios earlier this year. There was the promise of seeing Call of Duty come out on Game Pass, but now that will be restricted based on how much you're willing to pay Microsoft every month.
Despite all that, Game Pass is still pretty damn good. The cloud service is smooth as silk, and the game selection is one of the best among game subscription services. But, at $20, it now has to compete with Nvidia's GeForce Now Ultimate, which promises higher graphical quality with better bitrates. Game Pass remains ahead of Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription service. PlayStation Plus also increased in price last year, with execs blaming "market conditions" for the move. Game Pass Ultimate now costs $2 more per month than PlayStation Plus Premium.
Streaming services have been hiking fees across the board. It seems inevitable that Microsoft and Sony will eventually demand more from gamers for their games. But what if it's worse than that? Game Pass needs more subs to replace the revenue lost from hardware sales and recoup losses from the Activision Blizzard deal. If Microsoft can't make those returns, we're looking at a shittier service. Like streaming, the only outcome is a race to the bottom.
- The annual cost of Game Pass Core will increase by $15, potentially contributing to the ongoing 'enshittification' of tech services.
- With the new Game Pass Standard tier, access to day-one first-party games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be restricted for new subscribers.
- The future of Xbox Game Pass seems to be leaning towards higher subscription costs and restricted features, as observed in the tech industry's trend of 'enshittification'.
- In the competitive landscape of game subscription services, Game Pass now faces challenges from services like Nvidia's GeForce Now Ultimate, which offer higher graphical quality at a slightly lower price.