The Best Deal in Gaming Just Got Worse

Xbox Game Pass was long considered a great deal for gamers. But, with the new price of the Ultimate level now reaching $360 a year, many are questioning Microsoft’s prices. Also, we have more on the EA deal to go private, and all the latest news of the week. Let’s go!

Microsoft’s Game Pass becomes the new Xbox $360

One of the best deals in gaming got significantly worse, as Microsoft announced a 50% price increase on Xbox Game Pass. 

A few weeks after declaring their second price increase in a year for their Xbox hardware, Microsoft announced the increase to their gaming subscription service effective immediately. The new prices for the various Xbox tiers are:

• $30 a month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (was previously $20)
• $15 a month for Game Pass Premium (formerly Standard, previously $12)
• $10 a month for Game Pass Essential (formerly Core)
• $16.50 a month for PC Game Pass (previously $12)

As part of the announcement, Microsoft added dozens of titles to Game Pass, including a large number of older Ubisoft games. Microsoft claims that the increase is “to offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players,” but many subscribers did not see it that way.

Want to read more about the changes to Game Pass? We have you covered:

• Here are all the games being added to the various tiers of Game Pass. 
• Xbox Game Pass Premium members will now get new Xbox games within a year, except for Call of Duty.
• Microsoft is about to launch a free tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming with ads.
• Microsoft reportedly estimated that Game Pass led to $300 million in lost sales of Black Ops 6.
• Kotaku says the enshittification of Game Pass has arrived.
• Meanwhile, IGN says this generation of Xbox will be remembered for one thing: greed.

EA sells out

Last week, we reported that EA could go private. Shortly before we hit send on our newsletter, the rumors were confirmed that EA would in fact be sold to a group of investors, headlined by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, which is headed by President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. GamesIndustry.bz has an excellent breakdown on these three entities. 

EA CEO Andrew Wilson says the company values will remain unchanged under the new ownership. However, many see the potential for meddling by the Saudi government and trouble for progressive studios like BioWare under the new ownership. EA also says the buyout will not result in immediate layoffs, but the company is taking on $20 million in debt as part of the deal. Look for properties and studios to be sold, and likely more developers to lose their jobs. The Guardian says whether you play games or not, this purchase is a big deal. 

Side Quests (more stories worth reading)

💻 Discord suffered a data breach, including user information and scanned photo IDs. 

🎸 Harmonix delisted Rock Band 4 from digital storefronts due to expiring music licenses. 

☢️ Actor Walton Goggins, who plays The Ghoul in the Fallout television series will also play that role in Fallout 76. 

👵 Ahead of her 90th birthday, “Skyrim Grandma” Shirley Curry is retiring from making videos for the web. 

🎗️ Sony is making physical rewards that players who complete a game can purchase. 

🖥️ A Helldivers 2 developer explains why the game requires three times the storage space on PC compared to console. 

😢 Just Cause developer Avalanche Studio is closing its Liverpool studio and laying off employees. 

🇧🇷 Brazil banned the sale of in-game loot boxes to minors.

👟 Sony announces new PlayStation Sneakers to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

New Releases this week:

Check out our article on 13 New Games to Play in October.

10/9: Yooka-Replaylee (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
10/10: Battlefield 6 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
10/10: Dreams of Another (PlayStation and PC)
10/10: Little Nightmares 3 (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)

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