Microsoft raising Xbox first-party game prices to $70

Microsoft is raising the price of first-party Xbox games in 2023, from $59.99 to $69.99, the company has confirmed to Polygon. IGN first reported the news. The new higher price will apply for games like Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield, Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport, and Arkane’s Redfall, all of which are due next year.

The price increase “reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” Microsoft said in a statement. The company reiterated that those games will be available through Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service for Xbox consoles and Windows PC that starts at $9.99 per month.

“We’ve held on price increases until after the holidays so families can enjoy the gift of gaming,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement sent to Polygon. “Starting in 2023 our new, built for next-gen, full-priced games, including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield, will launch at $69.99 USD on all platforms. This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles. As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.”

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer signaled the impending price increase in October, saying 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 we have.”

Microsoft’s increased price on first-party Xbox games and their PC counterparts will be in line with other publishers’ current-gen prices, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive. Those companies sell new games like God of War Ragnarök, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and the NBA 2K series, respectively, at the $69.99 price point.