Xbox is preparing to join other major games publishers in raising the prices of its major new first-party titles from $60 to $70.
Beginning in 2023, games built for Xbox Series X|S including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will cost $69.99 USD at launch. While Xbox has noted that regional pricing may differ, it has not yet given specifics for other countries.
"This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles," a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. "As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.”
The price increase is unsurprising, given that earlier this year Xbox head Phil Spencer said that the company wouldn't be able to hold its prices forever, but that Xbox would not raise prices ahead of the 2023 holiday season. Xbox is also not the first company to have done this — Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive have announced $70 price points for certain new games, and Sony specifically has reported discussed raising that price even higher.
As for whether this will mean Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will also get more expensive, it's hard to say. The PlayStation 5 already got hit with a price increase in a number of countries, and Nintendo has said it's not ruling out an increase on the Switch in the future. When Sony announced its console price hike, Microsoft clarified that it had no plans to do the same for its current Xboxes, something that Spencer reiterated in September.
However, in October, Spencer's phrasing was a bit different. "We've held price on our console, we've held price on games, and our subscription," he said. "I don't think we'll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we'll have to raise some prices on certain things."
IGN reached out to Xbox for comment on potential console price increases, but the company declined to comment.
Full price for major new video games has remained steady at $60 since the Xbox 360/PS3 era, prior to which most games cost $50. Companies increasing prices now have cited factors such as increased development costs and ongoing inflation as key reasons behind the jump.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
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