Xbox joins AAA price hike club by charging $70 for first-party games
Xbox Game StudiosXbox is the latest AAA publisher to raise the price of its games from $60 to $70, a change that will enter into effect next year.
Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive revealed its intention to implement a $10 price jump in July 2020, months before next-gen consoles arrived.
NBA 2K21 received the bump first, with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick reasoning that “consumers [were] ready” for the shift since the previous increase in the US dated back to 2005.
Sony confirmed a similar pricing model on its first-party games in September 2020, another move that helped set the stage for what was to come. Several other publishers have since joined in as well, including the likes of WB Games with Gotham Knights.
Xbox to increase the price of first-party games in 2023
Speaking to IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson revealed that first-party projects from Xbox Game Studios will bear a $70 price tag starting in 2023.
Titles including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will mark the first to reflect Xbox’s new pricing model. How such a change may impact the cost of Xbox games in other regions presently remains unknown.
The representative explained, “this price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles.” It is worth mentioning, however, that titles developed by Xbox-owned teams will continue to launch day and date on Xbox Game Pass.
In an interview with WSJ Live in October, Xbox boss Phil Spencer cast questioned how long Microsoft can maintain the current costs of its consoles, games, and subscription services.
As such, news of a price increase on Xbox’s first-party games doesn’t exactly come as a shock. It seems the days of $60 AAA experiences will soon fade into obscurity.