Video Games

Microsoft increases Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass prices

Price hike on a similar level to Sony’s PS5 price increase

Marco Wutz

Microsoft increases Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass prices
Microsoft increases Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass prices /

Microsoft will increase the price of its Xbox Series X console on August 1, 2023, in most regions, though the US, Japan, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia are excluded from this. The price hike is akin to Sony’s earlier increase of the PS5’s cost, so both manufacturer’s flagship consoles are back in parity for the most part. The Xbox Series S will remain available at its current price.

Here’s what the Xbox Series X will cost starting August 1, 2023:

  • UK: £479.99
  • Europe: €549.99
  • Canada: $649.99
  • Australia $799.99

In addition, Microsoft will raise the subscription price of Xbox Game Pass – this change will affect everyone around the globe and is due to become active on July 6, 2023. The regular Xbox Game Pass will be more expensive by $1 or your regional equivalent, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate sees a price increase of $2 or your regional equivalent.

PC Game Pass is unaffected by this and remains available at its current price, which makes sense after some recent comments made by Phil Spencer, who said that the PC Game Pass is currently the area where Microsoft is seeing the biggest growth in their gaming segment – a price hike could stifle that.

If you’re an existing Xbox Game Pass subscriber, then your membership will only become more costly starting August 13, 2023, or September 13, 2023, if you are in Germany. In case you have subscribed to Xbox Game Pass through a yearly code, you won’t notice any change until you have to renew your membership.

Microsoft recently announced an enhanced Xbox Series S with more storage space as well as a run of limited edition hardware with a Porsche theme, which fans can win in a giveaway.

With Starfield due to release later this year, the company is probably expecting an increase in sales of both hardware and subscriptions.

Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

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