This morning Microsoft and Xbox shook the industry with the announcement that the Xbox Live Gold Pricing was going to be changing, charging even more for the service. It was announced late Friday night that Microsoft has now reversed the price change. The update can be seen below and is reflected on the Xbox Wire Blogpost.
For context, Microsoft was planning to increase the price for Xbox live Gold subscriptions, in certain cases doubling the price for a year long subscription. The new prices were set to 1-month being $10.99, 3-months being $29.99, and 6-months being $59.99, resulting in a full year being $119.98. Microsoft's reasoning for the changes was vague, stating they were just reevaluating the prices in many region and figured the new prices were more appropriate.
Fans and players across the internet quickly took to the internet to voice their concerns for this unprecedented price hike. The prices were set to go into effect 45 days after the announcement, leading to an early March rollout for the new prices. Many claimed the move as a way for Microsoft to force it's player-base to adopt the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service, and criticized the company's Xbox Live service as a whole, comparing it to PlayStation's PSN offering. Microsoft, having heard the wide outcry of fan feedback, have agreed and announced that prices will not change, everything will be set to the same as it was before the announcement this morning.
While this is good news for the service and the players, it remains to be seen what long lasting effects the stunt today will have on Microsoft and Xbox as a brand. For more on Xbox, Xbox Live, game Pass, and more, be sure to check back to My Xbox And Me.
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