PlayStation has been beating Xbox at every possible opportunity it gets, but the latest Xbox Game Pass strategy pivot could be the fresh start the service needs. Over the years, subscription services like the PSPlus and Game Pass have become necessary purchases for anyone who owns a console.
Without subscribing to these services, individuals cannot participate in any sort of multiplayer games on their respective consoles. However, the cost behind these services can be high for a lot of people.
To ease this burden, Xbox has taken the decision to reduce the price of Game Pass Ultimate to a point where more individuals could afford it.
Xbox Game Pass Gets a Price Drop And a Discord Partnership
In a post on X, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced that the price for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be reduced from $29.99 to $22.99.
This also comes with the caveat that furture Call of Duty titles won’t be available on the service on Day 1. Instead, they’ll be joining the service close to a year later. That aside, the service is also working on a discord integration, which could make communication during gameplay smoother.
For anyone who’s used a console, using Discord while gaming can be a task. So, with this integration, the company aims to make the service more user friendly. The strategy doesn’t end there. There’s also a possibility that Xbox might let users customize their own Game Pass, which could further lower the price.
On paper, these announcements look good, and could finally work in Xbox’s favor for a change. Over the years, PlayStation has surpassed the console, both in terms of hardware and the games that they’ve offered. So, these changes are hopefully going to be something that revives the service to its former glory.
The gaming community as a whole has responded well to these changes so far. While Asha Sharma did face a significant backlash when she first resumed office, individuals on social media have responded well to these changes so far.
In theory, these changes look positive, and could help the Xbox brand. Individuals online believe that it’s a step in the right direction, and hope that the leadership at Microsoft continue to take such decisions with the service.
After a long time, it looks like PlayStation will finally have some competition, because these strategic changes could put Sony in a tight spot, especially with their subscription and console prices.
