Yesterday, Microsoft announced plans to raise the price of Xbox Live Gold from $60 a year to $120 a year. But that announcement was met with such an instantaneous and furious response that Microsoft reversed the decision not even 24 hours after the initial announcement. Now, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has issued an apology for the incident.
Immediately after the announcement, thousands of gamers took to places like Twitter to express their disappointment in such a price hike coming from Microsoft, which has steadily built a reputation over the past few years as a company that presents a great value to gamers. The Series S offers next gen gaming to those on a budget and Xbox Game Pass is considered one of the greatest deals in gaming, so the decision to essentially double the cost of an essential gaming service came off as spiteful to many.
The overwhelmingly negative reaction Microsoft received essentially forced the company to reverse its decision, or risk losing its new reputation as a deal provider. Now Microsoft is trying to save face. Not only has Microsoft reversed the decision to increase the price, but now free-to-play games like Fortnite will no longer require Xbox Live Gold. To save even more face, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has now issued a somewhat-public apology.
While Microsoft has yet to truly explain why it needed to raise the price for Gold by so much, some think this was a backwards way into forcing people to upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Gold. The gap between the proposed $120 a year for Gold vs. the $180 a year for Game Pass Ultimate makes Game Pass Ultimate seem like a no-brainer on paper. But no one really seemed to fall for the trick based on the internet’s reaction, especially when people compared Xbox Live Gold to PlayStation Plus, a completely comparable service that only went up $10 in 2019 from $50 to $60.
Xbox Live Gold will continue to be $60 a year for the time being. This February’s free Games With Gold include Gears 5 and original Xbox game Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, among others. The inclusion of Indiana Jones is meant to coincide with the recent announcement that Bethesda studio Machine Games, both of which Microsoft now owns, will be making a new Indiana Jones Game.
Source: Phil Spencer’s Tweet
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