It sounds like Microsoft isn’t done making big changes to its big subscription service. Xbox Game Pass already lost day-one Call of Duty earlier this year in exchange for a price cut, but the Netflix-like program will reportedly be getting an even bigger overhaul in the near future.
According to Fortune, CEO Asha Sharma wants to turn Game Pass from a one-price, all-you-can-eat buffet into more of an à la carte arrangement. The service would still be tiered but players could pick and choose which add-ons they pay for. Cloud gaming, multiplayer, and console-only games would be some of the options users can select from.
It sounds like a way to keep costs in check and grow subscriber numbers while stripping out services most people don’t use or charging those who use them a lot extra do to so. That would be in line with Microsoft’s existing testing for an ad-supported tier of Game Pass that would lower the barrier to entry for people who aren’t already diehard gamers.
But the other thing that sounds inevitable is that the rest of Xbox’s first-party games get pulled from the day-one offering. The company has already been tip-toeing in that direction for years with Premium Edition Upgrades that charge players $30 for early access to games that will be available at no extra charge just days later via Game Pass.
Leaked internal charts suggested Microsoft was once aiming for over 100 million subscribers, only for the service’s growth to plateau around 35 million and the entire business model around Xbox this console generation to unravel as a result.
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