Microsoft asks many Game Pass subscribers to pay more for less

“Launch day access to first-party titles now restricted to $19.99/month ‘Ultimate’ tier.”

  • @retrospectology
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    545 months ago

    This is exactly what people were warned about with “games as a service” nonsense. No one wanted to listen.

    They wouldn’t be doing it if there wasn’t a plan to get consumers to be paying more in the end.

    • @NOT_RICK
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      95 months ago

      I knew this was coming. I’ve still gotten a lot of value out of gamepass in the interim. I’ll just cancel when the value prop is gone. Thankfully with sites like cdkeys or eneba it’s pretty easy to get a few months of gamepass for 10-20 bucks.

      • @retrospectology
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        225 months ago

        Unfortunately your support has helped bolster the viability of the model, it’ll be the norm eventually and there won’t be a way of getting most games without a paid service. Canceling won’t be an option at a certain point, that’s how these things work.

        • @NOT_RICK
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          55 months ago

          I’m not so sure, Microsoft seems pretty content to take people’s money however they want to give it. They came back to steam two years after gamepass launched when they didn’t necessarily have to.

          • @[email protected]
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            55 months ago

            But they get more money if people have to rent their games forever than if they can own things. It’s happening with everything really and companies always want the most profit.

        • @[email protected]
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          45 months ago

          Bud AAA’s have been getting worse and worse for over a decade now, the indie scene has never been as fucking good as it is now. Stop buying AAA games if their monetization politics upsets you, I did, and I’ve never been thirsty for a good game.

    • @CatZoomiesOPM
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      75 months ago

      Agreed. It isn’t a sustainable model. Eventually game companies will want their own proprietary ‘Game Pass service’, and we’ll see a great schism in the next 10 years - the very same that fractured video streaming. Customers will get more choices, but prices will remain high(er) rather than lowering.

      For now, depending on the type of customer, Game Pass is a good deal for those that want to try out games or have the time to justify the subscription. For an oldie like me, it’s not a good deal as I prefer to own my games (where possible, considering licenses and DRM).

      • @[email protected]
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        25 months ago

        The only time I even entertained this “game pass” idea was when I first got my vive, they offer infinity so you can play many/most (I havent used their portal since a year into owning the vive) of the games listed as part of it. By the time I had almost convinced myself I realised I already bought and had enough free steam games that it was no longer a good idea, for me.