Microsoft considers increasing the price of Game Pass Ultimate (again) –

It’s difficult to understand the decisions being made at the highest level within Microsoft and Xbox. The layoff of 1,900 Activision Blizzard employees earlier this year, followed this week by the closure of four studios, and now also the downsizing of Zenimax (and certainly more closures). A disheartening situation that every gamer knows is not good for either the Xbox platform or the industry in general.

And if Tom Warren’s new report at The Verge is confirmed, popular Xbox support will suffer even more. Xbox is considering increasing Game Pass Ultimate subscription price again. Warren emphasizes that these are just considerations for now, but the decision could be made depending on plans for the launch of the next Call of Duty, rumored to be the dedicated event taking place in June following the Xbox Games Showcase.

Apparently, the internal debate is whether Call of Duty – a series with multimillion-dollar production costs – is viable as a business to launch on Game Pass. “My understanding is that this is a debate that has been going on internally for some time, with some concerned that the revenue that Call of Duty normally generates for Activision Blizzard will be eroded by Game Pass.”

It appears that Game Pass isn’t currently generating enough profit to break even on the cost of Call of Duty, and that Xbox is in a tricky position of its own making. We may know more next month when the events begin in Los Angeles, but one thing is clear: something has to change at Xbox.