Microsoft is raising prices for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions in certain markets in an apparent effort to convert more users to the Xbox Game Pass Ulimate, and the gaming community is not receiving the news well.
Microsoft announced on a blog on Friday that in the future, new six-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will cost $ 59.99, while three-month plans will cost $ 29.99 and one-month plans will cost $ 10.99.
This means that an entire year of Xbox Live Gold will cost almost $ 120, double the price that Microsoft charged for the 12-month plans it quietly scrapped last year.
“We periodically assess the value and prices of our services to reflect changes in regional markets and continue to invest in the Xbox community; we will make price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in selected markets,” said the company.
Price changes will not affect existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers, however, they will still be able to renew their current plans at the same price. Microsoft is also allowing players who upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – which costs $ 14.99 a month, or about $ 180 a year – to convert the remaining time of their Xbox Live Gold subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass Ulimate at no additional cost.
Microsoft also said the new prices will not take effect until 45 days after subscribers receive an email and notification from the message center alerting them to the increases.
The new prices dramatically bridge the gap between annual subscription costs for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a sign that Microsoft is probably trying to force more users to subscribe to the latter.
The move attracted fierce reaction from the gaming community, who accused the company of being out of touch with the economic situation of many customers during the pandemic, and continued to demand that they pay for subscriptions even to play free-to-play games like “Fortnite” and “Call Of Duty : War zone. “
“@Xbox did this in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, where children will be most affected, where finances are tight and online games are the main (sometimes only) way to play and communicate with friends. @swooper_d tweeted.
“Xbox also remains the only platform you need a subscription to play for free, including Warzone,” the game news site Charlie Intel tweeted.
Others also pointed to the large price differences between Xbox and other online gaming platforms.
“I’m still in shock at the $ 100 difference between buying Nintendo Switch Online for a year and Xbox Live Gold for a year,” @JCretor tweeted.
Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions cost $ 19.99 and Playstation Plus subscriptions cost $ 59.99 for 12 months.
“We invest in our community by strengthening the digital security of our players, enabling new ways to share, communicate and play with their friends and provide industry-leading reliability on our network,” said Microsoft as part of its justification for raising prices, while adding: “In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it has not changed for more than 10 years.”