Xbox Game Pass suddenly looks even better value for money

Bad news for fans of blockbuster video games: they're about to get a lot more expensive on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. Speaking to IGN, Microsoft has confirmed that key first-party titles such as Forza Motorsport, Starfield and Redfall will be the first titles to get a $10 price hike, taking their RRP up to a whopping $69.99. Other countries' pricing hasn't been revealed but you can pretty much guarantee it's going to be £69 in the UK.

That's the bad news. The good news is that these games are still going to be on Game Pass, so unless Microsoft puts the price of that up, too, Game Pass is going to be even better value than it already is.

Why are Xbox game prices going up?

Microsoft isn't the only big firm putting game prices up: Sony, Take-Two Interactive and Ubisoft are doing it too. Part of the reason, we're told, is that these games are horrifically expensive to make; part of it, Microsoft says, is that it's been doing its best to keep prices down while the cost of everything goes up but can only do that for so long.

Back in September, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that "We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was really important that we maintain the prices that we have."

That's the holiday period we're in now. It's interesting that Spencer said Microsoft had been deliberately keeping the price of games and consoles lower, because that strongly suggests that console prices are going to head upwards in 2023 too. Again, that's not just a Microsoft thing; Sony's been doing it too, and Nintendo won't rule out an increase in the price of the Switch either. If you've been thinking about getting an Xbox, now might be a smart time to buy.