As soon as Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass was going to become more expensive, many players rushed to cancel their subscriptions. The demand was so high that the official cancellation page couldn’t handle it and became unstable for several hours.
Xbox Game Pass Price Increase
The plan that caught the most attention was the Ultimate, now costing €26.99 per month in Portugal, a 50% increase. Furthermore, Microsoft took the opportunity to change the names and benefits of the other plans: the former Core is now called Essential, and the Standard became Premium, with both gaining some improvements, such as access to cloud gaming. The idea, according to the company, is to justify the price hike with the offer of more extras and a larger catalog of games.
However, the announcement didn’t sit well with many in practice. On forums and social media, several players who tried to cancel their subscription complained that the page wouldn’t load or gave an error, something that many attribute to the sudden peak in cancellations. Some managed to resolve the issue later on, but others are still facing difficulties.
Community Reaction
To complicate matters further, it was also reported that the Call of Duty series is excluded from the Premium plan.
But not everyone is abandoning the service: some are simply switching to cheaper plans instead of giving up on the service. Nevertheless, this reaction shows that the price increase has significantly impacted the Xbox community.
Microsoft, on the other hand, continues to invest in Game Pass as a central piece of the Xbox strategy, especially at a time when console sales don’t have the same weight as before.
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