The controversial accusations made by NikTekOfficial on Twitter, which went viral, have caused a minor upheaval in the gaming world regarding Microsoft’s Xbox plans. The tech company is accused of deliberately running Xbox down, which amounts to “drastically raising the prices of consoles, lifting Game Pass subscription fees, and charging $80 for movie production.” All this is done while masquerading the situation as the “market conditions” which, according to the accusers, exist only in their imagination. Not to mention, this entire situation is pretty heavy and the gamers are already looking at a hollow future for Xbox.
According to the tweet, since 2020 Microsoft has progressively raised Xbox console prices, pushed for costlier games, and raised Game Pass subscriptions while claiming that “market situations” are the reason for their actions. But here’s the catch! The tweet suggests that the “market conditions” are, in fact, Microsoft’s greed and the setting of unrealistic expectations for Xbox to meet. It’s as if they are setting up their own gaming division to fail?? That is terrible if true.
The reception from the community has been… well, mixed, for lack of a better term. On one hand, some gamers are openly accusing Xbox management of wrongdoing, while on the other, some are sympathizing with Xbox and shifting the blame one notch up the corporate ladder. User 50PlusGamer1970 commented, “Phil, the head of Xbox, is absolutely responsible. He spent 8 billion dollars acquiring game publishers and it has not produced any returns. He promoted GamePass and it has not been as profitable as they expect.” Ouch. That’s extremely tough and Phil Spencer is not even the only one being blamed.
Nonetheless, there are some who argue for the Xbox chief and criticize the higher management. One internet user, YellowLight, summed it up: “microsoft is known for killing things they hated xbox since 2001 created.” That is, if you look it from a different angle, Microsoft does have the reputation of discontinuing the products that do not meet their expectations. For instance, Windows Phone? Right.
It appears that the whole controversy revolves around expectations. Quite a few comments speak of Amy Hood, the Microsoft CFO, and the rumor concerning her asking for Xbox to achieve a 30% profit margin on all sales. The mentioned profit margin is the general practice in all Microsoft divisions, but gaming usually has much lower margins. Hence, there exists a discrepancy between the standard imposed by the corporation and the actual reality of the gaming industry.
Surprisingly enough, the community is split on who is to blame. Gamers in one camp are issuing insults at the top of their lungs saying that the one who wrote the original tweet is a “console bigot” who wants Xbox to die, thus leaving the market open for Sony. GamerGeekTodd shot back with “CONSOLE BIGOTS like you want Xbox dead so you can have your Sony monopoly become a reality.” In the meantime, other players are simply nostalgic for the good old days, like gimmebosscoffee who remarked how “Fortnite kids these days will never understand the hype of Halo 2 and 3 back in the day.”
There is no denying the legitimacy of the pricing issue. Game Pass prices have already gone up once, and if Microsoft continues to hike game prices and console prices along with pushing for $80 games, that would be a significant barrier to the next Xbox generation. One user, matt_oakle42734, made a very apt observation: “once it is known that the platform is being killed off I reckon no one will be buying the next one.” The logic is sound – what would be the point of investing in a platform that might not have a future?
Moreover, there is a hypothesis according to which Microsoft is using Xbox to offset the expenses of its colossal AI development drive. One user, GladeRiven, said that “AI development is costly and they are plundering Xbox to finance it.” While this cannot be entirely dismissed as a possibility, it is understandable considering the scale of the current Microsoft investment in AI.
The whole saga appears to be a classic case of corporate mismanagement getting in the way of gaming passion. One side represents the accountants armed with their spreadsheets and profit margins. The other side comprises the gamers who want nothing more than to have their games and not be driven out of the ecosystem by high prices. And Xbox leadership is right in the middle, trying to appease both parties.
Some comments suggest that this is merely Microsoft doing the “sweet spot” in pricing, as TealusLildailye mentioned concerning Game Pass price increases. But what if they miss that sweet spot? Well, that’s when you start losing players to other platforms or completely ruining the brand’s appeal.
The mergers and acquisitions angle is particularly captivating. Microsoft poured billions into Bethesda and Activision studios, but several commenters pointed out that that investment has not yet been returned in terms of Game Pass growth or perhaps even profitability. Therefore, they find themselves in a dilemma: on one hand, there is the need to recoup the massive spending; on the other, they cannot afford to drive away their player base through constant price hikes.
It’s a tough call and the community sentiment seems to be that Xbox is at a crossroads. Either Microsoft lowers its expectations and allows Xbox to breathe or it may very well end up suffocating one of the biggest names in gaming to death. It would be a disaster for everyone since competition is beneficial for players and the demise of Xbox would leave Sony without any rival consoles.
The whole situation reminds me of how other tech companies managed similar scenarios in the past. For example, do you remember how innovative startups were bought by companies only to be closed down so that they would not pose a threat? I am not saying that this is the case here but the likenesses are… quite unsettling.
Players want nothing more than transparency and fair prices in the end. If Microsoft really needs to hike prices, that is fine, but they should be honest about the reason. Pointing at vague “market conditions” while internally setting unrealistic expectations? It is a sure way to lose trust and gaming, trust is everything. The next few months will be critical for Xbox, and to be honest? I really hope they manage to resolve this before it is too late. The gaming landscape would be unimaginably less interesting without them.
