microsoft Pauses Game Pass Ultimate Price Increases for Existing Subscribers in Several Countries
October 7th: Microsoft is delaying price increases for Xbox Game pass Ultimate subscribers in Austria, Germany, ireland, Israel, Korea, Poland, and India. The move comes after the company announced a 50 percent price hike to the service last week.
According to an email sent to subscribers and confirmed by Microsoft to The Verge, current subscribers on auto-recurring plans in these regions will continue to renew at their existing rates. New purchases, however, will reflect the increased pricing. Subscribers who cancel and repurchase the service will also be charged the new rate.
“At this time, these increases will only affect new purchases and will not affect your current subscription for the market in which you reside, as long as you are on an auto-recurring plan,” Microsoft stated in the email.
Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, explained to The Verge that the pause is “in line with local requirements.” ”Our recent Game Pass update remains unchanged. Current subscribers in certain countries will continue renewing at their existing price for now,” perez said. “We’ll provide advance notice before price adjustments take affect in these countries.”
The change likely stems from local regulations governing subscription price adjustments. Such as, existing subscribers in Ireland will continue to pay €17.99 monthly, rather than the newly announced €26.99. Microsoft has committed to providing at least 60 days’ notice before any price changes are implemented in these markets.
Last week, Microsoft initially stated the updated pricing would take effect October 1st for new subscribers and with the next billing cycle, around November 4th, for current subscribers. This timeline has now been altered for the aforementioned countries.
