Xbox Game Pass reportedly plans à la carte subscription
Microsoft is reportedly considering a major Xbox Game Pass revamp that would let subscribers choose features such as cloud gaming, multiplayer and console-only games. The plan, reported by Fortune and cited by IGN, would use a tiered structure. It comes as the service faces internal concerns that subscriptions may be reducing sales of Xbox’s higher-priced first-party games.
Microsoft is reportedly planning to let Xbox Game Pass subscribers choose individual features, including cloud gaming and multiplayer, in a proposed overhaul that could change how players pay for the service. Fortune reported the plan in a profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, and IGN cited the report.
The proposed structure would be tiered, with add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer, according to people familiar with the strategy cited by Fortune. The report does not describe prices or say when Microsoft might introduce the options.
That leaves key details open. But the reported shift would give subscribers a choice over which features they include, rather than treating the service as a single bundle.
Sales concerns sit behind the reported rethink
Fortune’s account also describes internal challenges around Game Pass. The subscription service helped Xbox build a recurring subscription business, but former employees told the publication it also led to “a cannibalization of sales” of the company’s higher-priced first-party games, especially during launch periods.
The report says different teams also tracked competing measures, including subscription revenue and store revenue. Former employees said those internal metrics exacerbated the problem.
For players, the practical consequence of a la carte options would depend on which features Microsoft places in each tier and what it charges. The report names possible features, but gives no pricing, package details or confirmation that the plan has been finalized.
Fortune’s profile also discusses a next-generation Xbox handheld and the next-generation Project Helix console. It says the devices may not be cheap unless Microsoft chooses to subsidize their cost; the report does not provide prices.
A broader set of Xbox changes
IGN’s report places the possible Game Pass overhaul among several moves by Sharma since taking the CEO role. It says she has cut the price of Game Pass Ultimate, signed Hideo Kojima’s next-generation project Physint, started two new verticals within Xbox and handed development of Halo to Activision.
IGN also reports that Sharma has personally responded to customer support tickets and checked out the latest build of The Elder Scrolls 6. The outlet’s account does not specify a date for any of those actions.
For subscribers weighing the service, the central question remains what a tiered plan would include and how its pricing would compare with the current offering. Fortune’s report describes a strategy under consideration, not a launch announcement. The reported add-ons include console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer.
