Microsoft Announces Price Hike for New Xbox Exclusive Games in 2023

Microsoft has confirmed that it will be raising the price of its new first-party Xbox games to $70 in 2023, up from the current $60. As reported by IGN, upcoming titles such as Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield are expected to be among the first to adopt this new pricing strategy. At present, there has been no official word on whether this price increase will apply to other regions as well. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the increased price is a reflection of the games' 'content, scale, and technical complexity'. In a previous interview with CNBC in September, Xbox head Phil Spencer was asked about potential plans to increase the retail price of consoles, to which he responded that Microsoft had no such plans at the time. Spencer's reasoning was that, given the current economic uncertainty, it would be unwise to raise the price of the console hardware.