• In a leaked memo, new Xbox head Asha Sharma said Game Pass prices were “too expensive.”
• Game Pass’ high price was tied to the inclusion of the latest edition of the popular Call of Duty game.
• Future Call of Duty titles won’t be part of Game Pass subscriptions at launch, beginning this year, the company said.

Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) gaming division, Xbox, on Tuesday slashed prices for the Game Pass Ultimate subscription to $22.99 a month from $29.99, and for PC Game Pass to $13.99 from $16.49.

In the latest announcement, the company also informed gamers that, starting this year, future Call of Duty titles will not come with subscriptions at launch but will instead be included about a year later. 

Existing versions of the popular first-person shooter game will, however, continue to be available on Game Pass, Xbox said.

Gamers Paid The Price

The decision to lower Game Pass prices comes after the company jacked them up by up to 50% in October last year.

According to a leaked internal company memo, which The Verge saw last week, Microsoft’s new Xbox chief, Asha Sharma, sympathized with gamers and admitted that Game Pass subscription prices were “too expensive.”

“Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system, which will take time to test and learn around,” Sharma reportedly said in the memo.

Buy Call Of Duty Separately

Gamers who wish to play the latest version of Call of Duty at launch will be required to purchase the game separately going forward.

The decision to exclude Call of Duty is part of the company’s strategy to generate revenue from its popular game franchise separately, rather than bundling it with the overall subscription, which led to higher prices in the first place. The move is being seen as a win-win for both players and non-players of the game.

“Our players cover a wide breadth of geographies, preferences, and tastes, so while there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone, this change responds to a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far. We’ll continue to listen and learn,” Xbox said Tuesday.

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment on MSFT remained ‘bullish’ while messaging volumes more than doubled over the last 24 hours.

A bullish user on the platform sees room for further upside in the stock.

MSFT stock has underperformed the benchmark S&P index over the past 12 months. 

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