Xbox head Phil Spencer has said it would have to raise prices on its products eventually — though gamers are safe through at least the 2022 holiday season, The Verge's Tom Warren reported Wednesday.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's WSJ Live event, Spencer indicated his department had resisted raising prices for a while, but that nothing lasts forever.
"I do think at some point we'll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices," he said. "We've held price on our console, we've held price on games, and our [Game Pass] subscription. 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."
Spencer did not provide additional detail regarding Microsoft's strategy around which section of its business would see prices rise.
In September, just after Sony upped the price of the PlayStation 5 in several regions, Spencer said his company had no plans to increase the price of the Xbox Series X|S. It's possible those plans may change, but perhaps more likely are price increases on games or on Game Pass. No price hike is easy for consumers to swallow, but a Game Pass price increase might be particularly onerous as the service's main selling point is its dollar-per-game efficiency.
This article was originally published on dbltap as Phil Spencer: Xbox Prices to Rise 'At Some Point'.
