Microsoft Gaming is getting ready to address growing Game Pass pricing concerns after months of criticism over the service’s higher cost. In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Asha Sharma told Xbox employees that Game Pass has become too expensive for players and said Microsoft needs a better value equation.
Sharma said Game Pass remains central to gaming value on Xbox, but added that the current model is not the final one. She said Microsoft will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system over time and told employees she would go deeper on the issue next week.
The pressure has been building since Microsoft hiked the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 per month last year and said the increase came with upgrades across all Xbox Game Pass tiers. The company also added Call of Duty to Game Pass in the summer of 2024, a move that was meant to strengthen the service even as costs climbed.
That pitch has not fully landed. The cost increase has clearly taken its toll on Game Pass, and the company is now moving to confront the backlash rather than dismiss it. The Verge reported that no immediate price changes should be expected in the coming days, which suggests Microsoft is preparing a broader response instead of a quick fix.
Over the weekend, Jez Corden suggested Microsoft might take Call of Duty out of Game Pass this year, saying that if it happened it could reveal cracks in the strategy. Microsoft has not said it will do that, but the speculation shows how much the service’s pricing, its biggest new addition and its long-term direction are now tied together.
For now, the answer to the question hanging over Xbox is clear: Microsoft is not backing away from Game Pass, but it is acknowledging that the current version has become too expensive to defend for much longer.
