Games

Since the bot missed the core details:

• Soon, Xbox Game Pass for Console will be shuttered for new users only. 
• Users currently on Xbox Game Pass for Console will be allowed to maintain their subscription, as well as day one games, and the hundreds of titles in the back catalogue.
• New users on Xbox Game Pass in the near future will be greeted by a new Xbox Game Pass "Standard." This is more like EA Access, which includes Xbox's back catalogue, and doesn't include day one games. This will be priced at $14.99 per month, and will also include Xbox Live Gold for multiplayer (now known as Game Pass Core, confusingly). It doesn't include Xbox Cloud gaming. Game Pass Standard is supposedly launching in September. 
• From September 12, 2024, Microsoft will only allow users to stack Xbox Game Pass for Console users for up to 13 months, using pre-paid cards and the like, which will continue to function. If you have more than 13 months stacked already, you won't be impacted. 
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will not be changed, but it will get a price increase. It will still include PC Game Pass, day one games, and hundreds of back catalogue titles, as well as cloud gaming. But, it is getting a price increase. The new price will be $19.99 per month. 
• PC Game Pass is also getting a price increase, from $9.99 per month to $11.99. 
• PC Game Pass will also continue to get day one games. 
• Xbox Game Pass Core (Xbox Live Gold multiplayer) gets an annual price increase to $74.99 from $59.99, but it will remain $9.99 per month.
• The price increases are global. You can view the new prices for your region here. 
• For users with recurring billing, the new prices will take effect on September 12, 2024, giving you time to cancel if you don't fancy it. 
• UPDATE: Microsoft now has a support page up dedicated to these changes over here. 

I'm not too surprised. They aren't bringing in many new subscribers, so it's time to increase prices to make it profitable.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

For a monthly fee, players get access to hundreds of games, as well as day-one titles from Microsoft studios.

According to Microsoft, the vast majority of users today are already on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is their flagship plan for the service.

Microsoft joins a long list of subscription services like Netflix, Spotify, and others increasing their prices over recent years.

Since the service's inception, people have wondered whether or not giving everyone access to games day one was a sustainable model, and post-pandemic, perhaps it simply isn't at that previous price tier.

It's also a positive step that Microsoft grandfathered in existing Xbox Game Pass for Console users into the system, allowing them to keep their entitlements.

Unlike Netflix and Spotify which have access to an almost infinite number of devices to grow on, Xbox Game Pass as a subscription service is arguably limited to a subset of devices in a subset of scenarios, while simultaneously competing with platforms like Steam on PC, and PlayStation on console.

The original article contains 659 words, the summary contains 169 words. Saved 74%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

Hmm what’s the best way to lock in a couple/few years of GP before it completely goes to shit pricing wise in 2024?