Microsoft revamps Xbox Game Pass plans and hikes Ultimate to $29.99 a month, Ultimate gets Ubisoft+ Classics and more

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so, how many decades until my series s becomes a collector's item?...
 
It feels like all of this could end very suddenly. Like with the Mixer - one day they bought that super expensive streamer ninja or whatever, the next day they shut it down. I mean the hardware part of Xbox here mostly, not the whole gaming business.
 
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Timdog seems to be crashing out over hardware allegedly being over.


But with timdog you never know if his just having a moment or really heard something.


I get the feeling a lot of his "moments" could just be from what he ate the night before.
 
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Assuming that the consoles are no more, I don't know what moron would keep subscribing to Game Pass for zero ownership of any of their content. Microsoft as a company has proven time and time again that they are willing to completely shutter everything without a single regard for the consumer.
 
It feels like all of this could end very suddenly. Like with the Mixer - one day they bought that super expensive streamer ninja or whatever, the next day they shut it down. I mean the hardware part of Xbox here mostly, not the whole gaming business.
Kinda wanna see the ramifications of this, like what happens next to all software in development, mass cancelled? Is GTA 6 even going to release or is it now a full PS5 exclusive? Are the 75 day one games even going to be true?

Wild.
 
I dont think there wont be any more hardware. I think it is too soon (ofc I can be wrong... and it would be kind of funny)

I think we will just have steammachines-like but with xbox overlay. Like the asus ROG. After those fail, they will quit the first party scene.
 
Assuming that the consoles are no more, I don't know what moron would keep subscribing to Game Pass for zero ownership of any of their content. Microsoft as a company has proven time and time again that they are willing to completely shutter everything without a single regard for the consumer.
Hey they just did exactly that for TV and Movies too
 
Yeah apparently Tom Warren on XboxERA podcast said he's well informed internally



I don't like Tom Warren's reporting style and he's been an annoying Xbox fanboy over the years, but he's one of the few people in the Xbox fanboy/podcasting/influencer space who does get official word from MS ahead of running stories MS want out there for narrative control reasons. He's in the same camp as Jez Corden, Parris Lily and similar.

So if he's corroborating what Sneaker's saying, then there's definitely truth to it. Only question I guess is when will MS make the official statement. Going by what's been said, probably a few months from now.
 
But it's obvious that the Xbox is over!

Several stores are discontinuing the Xbox, and there's been a lot of news about it.

Didn't Phil Spencer run around the internet spouting some nonsense saying, "Yes, there is an Xbox, we're making new hardware"? Because the new hardware is NOT over.
 
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Without going into too much detail, not long after the last round of layoffs (next one should be coming in Q1 26 btw - and its going to be just as massive as the last one), some rumblings out of Xbox starting coming out that were a little hard to believe.

The ramifications of the CoD GP gambit not working out were just starting to get properly measured, but the thing that really stuck out to me was that suddenly, really concrete plans for actual MS Xbox HW went from being definitive, to up in the air, which was really startling given that this thing was meant to be out relatively soon. It was one of those situations where, despite folks being told 'hey, we wanna pull the trigger on this in 2026', the steps you would need to take in the lead up to delivering a new console gen weren't being met. Lots of things that were 'sure things' started getting pushed. The Costco retailer pulling Xbox, and apparently they are one of many that we'll learn about soon, told me all I needed to know.

To sum it up: the future of Xbox is software publishing, with a significantly honed-in focus on profitable IPs (CoD, WoW, Minecraft, Candy Crush, Forza Horizon), Cloud gaming being the home of the 'Xbox platform', transititioning GamePass into basically becoming the point of entry subscription for xCloud access (which will continue to drive its price tag higher btw, they aren't done there just yet either), and releasing their software on any device that has a marketplace and users willing to buy their titles.

Maybe some OEM thing will take up the Xbox name, but given what is clearly a collapse in favorable mindshare and faith in said brand, i'm not even sure a 3rd party OEM is gonna want to have an Xbox console by the time MS is done with their reorienting of the division.
Holy mercy we live in wild times.

I've never owned an Xbox but the gaming industry is way better with competition in it. I fear gaming may have peaked in terms of getting the best of the best ever again. Nintendo fucked off and did their own thing and Sony already owns the Console market practically. Imagine how bad the prices will be when there is no Xbox. 1200 dollar PS6?
 
Assuming that the consoles are no more, I don't know what moron would keep subscribing to Game Pass for zero ownership of any of their content. Microsoft as a company has proven time and time again that they are willing to completely shutter everything without a single regard for the consumer.
A fucking crime to buy skype just to shut it down.
 
So if he's corroborating what Sneaker's saying, then there's definitely truth to it. Only question I guess is when will MS make the official statement. Going by what's been said, probably a few months from now.
MS are fast to dispel rumors so come Monday we should know or if they stay silent.

Than again they will probably just PR spin that they have new hardware coming out this month.
 
I memba



But, I guess he can't win, huh? People have called Phil a "suit" and "PR guy" in every corner of the gaming space, despite the well-known fact that Phil is an actual, real gamer who absolutely enjoys video games. It's not even a question at this point. I'm personally happy that a real gamer is running the video game division of a company - maybe that's exactly the reason why back-compat for all Xbox generations became a thing, or why he lay his neck on the line to push Game Pass, knowing true gamers would flock to it and that it would grow steadily... Maybe, that's why we're getting so many studio acquisitions to bolster development without huge risks and a years-longer drought in games (yes, I know it's taking a while, but it would take even longer if they had to try to build some real triple-A titles from scratch). Maybe, that's why so many gamers resonate with him, or his words, despite the naysayers?
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We know of Costco and now Sam's Club having a firesale on Xbox. Who's next, maybe Walmart since they own Sam's Club?

Wouldn't shock me in the slightest. We already know they didn't include Xbox whatsoever in their holiday catalog this year.

My local Walmart hasn't stocked Xbox things for a couple years now; After Christmas of 22 or 23, I can't remember which, they gutted their entire Xbox section and replaced it with a printed paper sign saying Xbox products were available on the Walmart website. They've stopped carrying physical games and split all the former Xbox space between the Switch and PS5. The only Xbox related stuff they have on the shelf at my store are gift cards, game pass cards, and third party headsets and controllers (mostly those PowerA ones).
 
I'll never forget the story i'd heard, that Phil celebrated when he saw the announcement video for Horizon Forbidden West, and said Halo Infinite blew it out of the water. A month later, they did the gameplay reveal for Infinite, which went so poorly that the game got delayed out of Xbox Series launch, for over a year.
this is crazy if true. would love to hear unique stories like this
 
Meh, dont care anymore. I got my 3 years for cheap, i got my values worth.

Right now, my Series X is just a paper weight but once its back connected ot the OLED, itll be an easy way to play 60 fps single player games bought cheap on key sites. It still has a long life left.
 
Assuming that the consoles are no more, I don't know what moron would keep subscribing to Game Pass for zero ownership of any of their content.
??
Gamepass has little to do with Xbox consoles at this point. I haven't used the console this whole year, I think I logged 9 hours last year, probably the same or less the year before that.

But I have the whole Gamepass library up on the New tab in Playnite on my couch PC.

Right now GP is more like UbisoftPass…
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😵‍💫
 
??
Gamepass has little to do with Xbox consoles at this point. I haven't used the console this whole year, I think I logged 9 hours last year, probably the same or less the year before that.

But I have the whole Gamepass library up on the New tab in Playnite on my couch PC.

Right now GP is more like UbisoftPass…
fboeWDU.png

JK8qOfp.png

😵‍💫

If Microsoft bows out of console hardware, that will be the single biggest blow to credibility and goodwill that they could ever choose to make (far more than what they've already done). Game Pass has been propped up by the 30 million or so console players. If a hardware withdrawal is coming, those people have zero reason to stick with Xbox and Game Pass. By extension, the pricing for Game Pass isn't likely to get any cheaper at the rate things are going.
 
Still think MS should keep Xbox hardware, go back to basics pre game pass push, just keep your hat in the ring until everyone moves from hardware. Doesn't matter if they're in third place, they get good money from Xbox live and keep a sizeable chunk of Xbox gamers. Game pass can still carry on as an older games/indie service and just put on the odd first party game. Big mistakes are trying to launch Starfield and COD on there as game pass has a ceiling so you just give up day one sales. GP subscribers were happy enough paying for it and not getting COD etc. MS have fucked this up with the costly dual console strategy and using GP as a big loss leader and trying to buy the gamer and industry.

Xbox gamers just want the MS made traditional console one and done back, Xbox live and an additional sub service for older games and funding some indie games. Hire people that get gaming, like in the 2000s.
 
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Still think MS should keep Xbox hardware, go back to basics pre game pass push, just keep your hat in the ring until everyone moves from hardware. Doesn't matter if they're in third place, they get good money from Xbox live and keep a sizeable chunk of Xbox gamers. Game pass can still carry on as an older games/indie service and just put on the odd first party game. Big mistakes are trying to launch Starfield and COD on there as game pass has a ceiling so you just give up day one sales. GP subscribers were happy enough paying for it and not getting COD etc. MS have fucked this up with the costly dual console strategy and using GP as a big loss leader and trying to buy the gamer and industry.

Xbox gamers just want the MS made traditional console one and done back, Xbox live and an additional sub service for older games and funding some indie games. Hire people that get gaming, like in the 2000s.
Those times are so gone. 0 chance they're doing that.
 
Assuming that the consoles are no more, I don't know what moron would keep subscribing to Game Pass for zero ownership of any of their content. Microsoft as a company has proven time and time again that they are willing to completely shutter everything without a single regard for the consumer.

I tried to tell 'em.

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They just rug pull, raw, with no shits given.
 
Imagine how bad the prices will be when there is no Xbox. 1200 dollar PS6?

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People need to stop kidding themselves with this crap/cope. Look at the prices they've just bumped their subscriptions to, look at the price they've set for their console customers who only want to play online, look at the price of their consoles, look at the prices of their storage expansions, look at the rumoured prices for their next consoles.

This is the company that introduced paid online to the console space and then in the hubris of the 360 era attempted to extend paid online to the PC space because they thought they could get away with it.
 
If Microsoft bows out of console hardware, that will be the single biggest blow to credibility and goodwill that they could ever choose to make (far more than what they've already done). Game Pass has been propped up by the 30 million or so console players. If a hardware withdrawal is coming, those people have zero reason to stick with Xbox and Game Pass. By extension, the pricing for Game Pass isn't likely to get any cheaper at the rate things are going.
Xbox, sure. But Gamepass, why? I thinks you're mixing things up. I've used GP since the start, once I drifted away from consoles I just used it on PC. All games aren't there but enough to save money. If I have a cheap stacking deal rolling it's not like I would rather go to Steam and buy Call of Duty, Oblivion Remaster, Expedition 33, Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, Doom TDA, etc if they're included on Gamepass. Why would I do that?

It's actually a fairly straightforward process to migrate over to PC now, if you're on Xbox you have the same account and subscriptions and achievements and sometimes saves and licenses. I think that's what's going to happen more and more.

The real struggle is the living room. As shown I use Playnite. Not the Xbox App. Playnite does basically the same thing, but with a better UI, it adds games automatically from other storefronts, with nice images, I can scroll through Gamepass library and click install/play using the controller. Easy peasy.
 
You used GFWL????

Disgusted Emma Stone GIF

Didn't subscribe to it for the online service but I purchased viva pinata from the store, which I can't even download anymore.

Also their GFWL DRM infected dozens of games on Steam, because certain publishers at the time were stupid enough to hop on board and were complicit in attempting to aid Microsoft in their endeavour to get PC gamers paying a subscription for online gaming.
 
It always cracked me up when Phil said he didn't believe in console wars but him and his execs were doing it.
Phil was consciously saying what he thought would win him favour in the news cycle based on what was popular to say regardless of it was true or if it would bite them in the ass later or not.
 
Xbox, sure. But Gamepass, why?

If they can't find a way to make it financially viable in the long run then they will get rid of it.

The more it stagnates (or the less people that subscribe) then the more they will need to raise the prices.

People don't realise that from a financial perspective, these "all you can eat" subscription services are akin to ponzi schemes. They only work if a certain number of people are paying in at a given subscription price, and if not enough money is being paid in to the system then they are prone to collapse. The irony is that if they continue to aggressively raise the price as they have been in the last couple of years, the more likely it is to happen.
 
Holy mercy we live in wild times.

I've never owned an Xbox but the gaming industry is way better with competition in it. I fear gaming may have peaked in terms of getting the best of the best ever again. Nintendo fucked off and did their own thing and Sony already owns the Console market practically. Imagine how bad the prices will be when there is no Xbox. 1200 dollar PS6?
Sony needs to have an install base to make money from selling games.
You can't grow an install base with a 1200$ console.
The price must be affordable or they just hurt themselves.

Even with the latest price increases, the ps5 digital is often on sale for 399€.
This week was "back to school" sale, 100€ off, and sales like that happen frequently, at least in Europe.
 
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