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The Xbox path after shutting down four studios is unclear; Microsoft has no plan for the future of the gaming division. New reports are talking about an increase in the Game Pass price or even launching more titles on PS5.
Controversy continues to follow Microsoft, with contradictory statements like the one from Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, who said the company needs “smaller games that give us prestige and awards.” Microsoft just confirmed Tango Gameworks will be closing after launching successful titles like Hi-Fi Rush. This kind of statement only worsens how players perceive the Xbox brand right now, with many only thinking the company is making one bad decision after another.
Popular industry insiders are reporting other changes to Xbox’s business model. Microsoft is considering bringing Call of Duty to Game Pass and increasing the price of the service. After releasing four titles on other platforms, there are more games that could be launching on PS5, like Hellblade 2 or even the Gears saga. The company is reportedly considering all options to increase sales.
Microsoft also owns one of the most profitable IPs in the entire industry, Call of Duty, a franchise that makes millions of dollars every year for Activision Blizzard. Xbox executives reportedly admitted Game Pass has not reached the desired numbers for the company and adding CoD could boost those subscription numbers, but its individual sales could prevent Microsoft from taking that step.
Microsoft’s current strategic changes don’t inspire confidence the company can increase the number of console sales or make exclusive titles sell more. Day One on Games Pass has often resulted in fewer sales for first-party titles, and Game Pass users are not enough to make this model profitable. The recently implemented reorganization is making it clear how these big acquisitions haven’t panned out the way the company wanted.
The heads of Xbox focused on making the brand more visible, but numbers and console sales have seemingly stagnated. And it’s not clear that a price hike for Game Pass will help matters, either.
