- Microsoft is looking to increase the prices for its latest AAA games.
- Some of the industry’s larger publishers are seeking to mark up pricing for their games for the first time in two decades, citing increasing production costs.
- Despite the markups coming to games like Starfield and Redfall, these titles will remain available at no extra cost for Game Pass subscribers.
It looks like AAA gaming will get even more expensive heading into the new year, with industry giants like Sony, Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive (the owner of Rockstar and 2K) all looking to increase retail prices from 2023 on.
Microsoft has also taken note of the increases on the horizon and will follow suit, according to Bloomberg. The latest price increases will see new Xbox games retail at $70 or around R1 200.
We can extrapolate that since the PlayStation 5 (PS5) edition of God of War Ragnarok costs around R1 400, games from both Xbox and PlayStation that are regarded at the same “tier” will be priced similarly.
Upcoming Xbox Series X|S games that will be affected by the increase include Bethesda’s highly anticipated RPG Starfield, as well as its vampire-hunting shooter Redfall and Microsoft Game Studio’s latest Forza Motorsport effort.
“This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” a spokesperson at Microsoft explained. A sentiment that is felt throughout gaming, apparently, as this marks the first major industry-wide price increase in AAA titles for the last two decades.
Previously major titles were priced at $60 or R1 000, but publishers like Sony and Microsoft have been debating marking up their prices since 2020 in line with the skyrocketing costs of developing AAA games.
For example, Grand Theft Auto V cost $265 million to develop in 2013, while more recently Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II had an estimated budget of $250 to $300 million. And as games get bigger, better, prettier and faster these costs will begin rivalling the likes of major motion picture productions.
Microsoft says that its latest increases will only be implemented after the holidays, so that “families can enjoy the gift of gaming.”
What is notable is that these prices for Xbox titles will only be for those players who are not subscribed to the Xbox Game Pass. Starfield, Redfall, Forza and, rumour has it, the latest Elder Scrolls game will all be available at no extra cost for Game Pass subscribers.
In South Africa, the most expensive tier of Game Pass, with unlimited access to games, member discounts, and other perks, is being discounted as of time of writing, and costs R15.90 per month.
AAA gaming is only going to get more expensive, and as subscription services like Xbox remain somewhat affordable so they will attract more users as stand-alone titles continue to be marked up. This could feasibly drive a boom in subscriptions and other large publishers could try to compete by launching their own versions of PlayStation Plus and Game Pass.
But as indie games and smaller developers are still offering affordable games, there won’t be a massive shift in the industry as of yet.
