Xbox Co-Founder Condemns Game Pass Price Increases as “Betrayal”
SEATTLE, WA – Laura Fryer, a founding member of the Xbox team, has publicly criticized recent price hikes for Xbox Game Pass, calling the increases a “betrayal” of the trust gamers placed in the platform. Fryer’s comments come after Microsoft announced further price increases for Game Pass, following two hardware price increases and three previous Game Pass price adjustments during the current console generation.
Fryer, in a YouTube video released today, stated, “With this latest increase to game Pass, Xbox threw away one of their last advantages. They where the best deal in gaming… With these price hikes, it feels like a betrayal, like greed over gaming.” She expressed concern that this generation of Xbox will be “remembered first and foremost for Microsoft’s greed.”
The criticism extends beyond Game Pass. Fryer highlighted a pattern of escalating costs, including more expensive games, and meaningful layoffs impacting both Microsoft and its game growth studios. She believes these changes are damaging to the Xbox brand,questioning whether the company is genuinely committed to hardware or is simply “incompetent.”
Despite her concerns, Fryer expressed hope for the future, stating, “They need to rebuild trust with gamers and fans. I know people on the Xbox team that are still there that were there in the early days… They can fix this and I’m rooting for them and wishing them the best.”
Fryer previously voiced concerns that xbox is shifting away from hardware development, pointing to the outsourcing of the ROG Xbox Ally handheld device to Asus. However, Xbox VP Jason Ronald recently reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its next generation of consoles.
While Microsoft has stated the Game Pass price increases will not be immediate for all subscribers, the more expensive Game Pass Ultimate tier is together losing a popular call of Duty perk.Analysts speculate that Microsoft may introduce an ad-supported tier to Game Pass in the future.
