Why I'm Breaking Up With Xbox

A fewer years ago, Microsoft offered immoderate of nan champion deals successful gaming. The spartan Xbox Series S was well-priced astatine $300 (and you could often find it moreover cheaper if you hunted for deals). A $15 monthly subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offered a immense catalog of games caller and old. But my, really things person changed successful 2025.

The astir five-year-old Xbox hardware lineup sewage not conscionable one but two value bumps this year; nan Series S pinch 512GB of retention now costs a whopping $400, while nan Series X starts astatine $600 for a digital-only exemplary aliases $650 pinch a disc thrust — $150 and $100 than they retailed for conscionable a fewer months ago. Adding reproach to injury, Microsoft besides jacked up nan value of Game Pass Ultimate by 50 percent this week — it will soon costs $30 a month, up from $20. And that’s hardly nan only value bump it has received precocious — it was only $17 arsenic precocious arsenic July of past year. It's a positively chaotic move. 

Sure, Microsoft isn't unsocial successful expanding console pricing —  Nintendo is charging more for nan ancient original Switch than ever before, and nan Switch 2 is nary bargain astatine $450. Sony besides increased PS5 pricing this year, albeit to a little melodramatic extent. It's not a immense daze fixed nan roller-coaster thrust of uncertainty that is nan US system successful 2025 (and for astatine slightest a fewer much years to come), but Microsoft's attack feels egregious.

And that was earlier nan Game Pass bump. It seems Microsoft is betting that accrued gross from die-harts will offset nan inevitable losses from group who determine that nan caller value isn’t worthy it. Subscriber inertia is decidedly a existent thing, and devoted Xbox owners who get a batch of usage retired of Game Pass whitethorn not bat an oculus (or whitethorn hide to cheque their slope statements.)

$30 for hundreds of games, arsenic good arsenic high-profile motorboat time readiness for titles that would usually costs $70 aliases much each, is wholly reasonable. By nan aforesaid token, $30 aliases $40 for thing for illustration Apple Music would beryllium much than adjacent erstwhile you see really overmuch purchasing a azygous medium costs. (Not to mention adjacent compensation for each nan artists progressive successful making music, aliases games, but that’s a communicative for different time. 

But successful a hopeless effort to get group signed up for euphony streaming, $10 a period became nan manufacture standard. Sure, streaming services costs a fewer bucks much than that now, but they've frankincense acold avoided nan large value jumps we're seeing successful video and now crippled streaming. As nan first large institution to connection a subscription gaming catalog, Microsoft had a chance to group marketplace rates — but to get arsenic galore group connected committee arsenic possible, it seems for illustration it aimed excessively debased and is making up for it now.

And those who utilized to salary $15 aliases $18 aliases moreover $20 a period for Game Pass for years will apt struggle pinch this bump, nary matter really devoted an Xbox gamer they are. A twelvemonth of Game Pass now costs much than double nan yearly complaint for a PlayStation Plus Platinum subscription. And while Sony still has nary plans to bring high-profile, first-party workplace games for illustration Ghost of Yotei to its work connected time one, nan various PS Plus plans connection a ton of worth without that. Especially for group who don't request to play nan basking caller crippled nan week it comes out.

For my part, I've been considering breaking up pinch Xbox for astir of nan year, and I deliberation this will seal nan deal. In a batch of ways, I was nan nonstop target marketplace for nan Series S and Game Pass. There weren't a ton of Xbox games I wanted to play, but location were capable I was funny about. So nan combo of a reasonably-priced console and Game Pass was a awesome measurement to some effort immoderate caller games and research others I had missed.

Getting caller players into nan Xbox ecosystem feels for illustration a monolithic situation now pinch nan prices we're looking at. My year-one costs for an Xbox Series S and Game Pass was $480; it would beryllium almost double now astatine $860. That is simply a positively sadistic increase, and you tin get acold much for your money successful nan PlayStation ecosystem, to opportunity thing astir Steam's predominant (and often much generous) sales. And much and much erstwhile Xbox exclusives are coming to different consoles — like Forza Horizon 5, nan crippled that sewage maine to bargain an Xbox successful nan first place. That’s yet different logic to not bargain an Xbox, particularly astatine these prices.

Sure, portion of Microsoft's strategy is that thing tin beryllium an Xbox, streaming games to your TV aliases set-top box. But you'll request a really beardown net relationship for that to beryllium your only measurement to play games, and nan benignant of group who are going to ammunition retired $30 for Game Pass are astir apt going to want nan accrued capacity and fidelity that'll travel pinch a dedicated console. At nan very least, though, crippled streaming is disposable connected each Game Pass plans, truthful they’re making that portion of nan equation much accessible to much users.

Microsoft seems to person decided thing tin beryllium an Xbox without considering nan group who already bought one. The caller strategy appears to beryllium shifting user costs distant from hardware (which is usually a nonaccomplishment leader anyway) to its increasingly-expensive subscription service. That’s been a clear portion of nan Xbox scheme for a while now, but group person travel to expect a definite value constituent for things for illustration Game Pass (regardless of whether aliases not that value is ethical). Now, Microsoft looks for illustration it’s gouging Game Pass customers and leaves group who did bargain into nan Xbox ecosystem emotion taken advantage of.

The large stake is that less customers paying much will activity retired successful nan agelong run. I person nary thought if that’s nan correct strategy — but I'm 1 gamer who won't beryllium sticking astir to find out. I stake I'm not alone.