Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would start charging $80 for new games, beginning with The Outer Worlds 2. The company backtracked on those plans, however, opting to sell the game for $70 and cancelling plans for other $80 games in the future. What happened here? And what does Microsoft think about pricing for its games going forward?
Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty told Variety that the decision to roll back prices from $80 to $70 came about from listening to player feedback and trying to deliver "player value."
"We've reacted in the last year and I think for us, the real focus is going to be ... meeting people where they are. I think there's going to be less of a focus on what's that top line price of a game, as people start to engage in different ways with games," he said.
Thinking about a set price like $50, $60, $70, $80, or more is missing the point, Booty said. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for pricing, and Booty said the company will continue to monitor feedback as it looks to set prices for games in the future.
"From our point of view, monetization just happens in so many different ways right now. So we're going to continue to listen to the feedback from fans. We're going to continue, to balance that with needing to run the healthy business. But right now, on the content side, we don't have any pricing updates," he said.
While Microsoft didn't end up releasing any $80 games this year, the company did hike prices for Xbox fans in other ways. Microsoft jacked up Xbox console prices and increased the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by a whopping 50%.
Outside of Xbox, Nintendo is charging $80 for Mario Kart World, and the company says the game has so much value that it justifies the higher cost. The game is also available in a $500 hardware bundle, however.
Looking further out, many are wondering what GTA 6 will cost when it releases in November 2026. Some people think it warrants a $100 price tag, while others have said the game does not need to be $100 because its expected online mode could be the real money-maker.
Source
Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty told Variety that the decision to roll back prices from $80 to $70 came about from listening to player feedback and trying to deliver "player value."
"We've reacted in the last year and I think for us, the real focus is going to be ... meeting people where they are. I think there's going to be less of a focus on what's that top line price of a game, as people start to engage in different ways with games," he said.
Thinking about a set price like $50, $60, $70, $80, or more is missing the point, Booty said. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for pricing, and Booty said the company will continue to monitor feedback as it looks to set prices for games in the future.
"From our point of view, monetization just happens in so many different ways right now. So we're going to continue to listen to the feedback from fans. We're going to continue, to balance that with needing to run the healthy business. But right now, on the content side, we don't have any pricing updates," he said.
While Microsoft didn't end up releasing any $80 games this year, the company did hike prices for Xbox fans in other ways. Microsoft jacked up Xbox console prices and increased the monthly cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by a whopping 50%.
Outside of Xbox, Nintendo is charging $80 for Mario Kart World, and the company says the game has so much value that it justifies the higher cost. The game is also available in a $500 hardware bundle, however.
Looking further out, many are wondering what GTA 6 will cost when it releases in November 2026. Some people think it warrants a $100 price tag, while others have said the game does not need to be $100 because its expected online mode could be the real money-maker.
Source