The community, gamers in particular, exploded in fury: because of $30 price bumps for Game Pass Ultimate that came into effect a few days prior, the gamers simply are NOT having it.
An Xbox Game Pass PC tweet attempted to stir up a little hype: “It’s official; you’re an install wizard (bc Hogwarts Legacy is now available),” but spillover drama in the replies was enough to drain the energy. Within minutes, players entered into a full cancelcade, screaming in unison against Microsoft’s pricing decision.
“I’m a cancel wizard now,” one player said, summing up the overall situation. Another comment read, “RIP game pass 🕊️🪦,” implying a funeral for the service. So loud is the backlash that dramatic reports are saying, “Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people canceled their subscription to GP in one day.”
Now, this is where things get wild, with so many suggesting alternatives. Among others, a couple of comments noted, “You can just buy Hogwarts Legacy on Steam. That is less than half of your shitty GamePass Ultimate scam.” Another argued, “On Steam while it’s on sale for 1/3 of Ultimate GamePass lmao,” really drilling the price difference down.
And then some serious Netflix comparisons took place, with one gamer commenting, “GamePass saw what’s happening to Netflix and got jealous. Help GamePass go down with Netflix.” Note that is a cutting remark toward Microsoft.
The international replies just poured more fuel on the fire. One Portuguese comment translates to “Sad end of game pass,” while another conversation in Portuguese described the price increase as “double double kill,” showing that the frustration is not bound by language barriers.
However, it is interesting to ever insinuate thereof an amulet among so many gamers in reaction. Some weigh in defending the value proposition, with one comment going “I wanna play Outerworlds 2 Day One,” implying that for some gamers, actually going day one and plunking down for their big titles is worth Game Pass with that heavyweight price tag. Yet, they are definitely a very small minority given the overwhelmingly negative response.
Could it really have been a more in-opportune time to announce the Hogwarts Legacy for Xbox? It seems bitterly fought together as an alt-service so fast it had to be slashed as one of the biggest consumer outages in recent gaming history. Multiple comments referred directly to the pricing, with one user stating, “Step One: LOWER THE PRICE OF GAMEPASS TO WHAT IT WAS.”
Pricing discussions have even spilled over about the game itself; one user remarked on the JK Rowling controversies by expressing an opinion to the effect that they’d rather “have the money go to a good cause than give it to jk rowling.” So this talk is multiple levels above just subscription service gripes.
What remains truly striking is, in contrast, the heavily inundated torrent of cancellation announcements. Comment after comment is drenched with megawatt-angry variations of “goodbye gamepass,” and “subscription canceled,” with a few users even getting creative with, “You’re all wizards as well. Just see how many subscriptions magically disappear,” which in a very literal sense is a play on words but a slap in the face to Xbox marketing all the same.
Then, there’s a part of what just makes this messier, as Hogwarts Legacy is a very much loved game, one which plenty of people want to play. It’s Microsoft and their timing releasing such a dearly sought-after title right after a really unpopular price hike; it’s like offering a fancy dessert to someone after doubling their rent.
That led to comparison predictions with PlayStation old times, going all the way back to “2013 Xbox One+Kinect all over again but now worse” — again, some serious shade considering how bad that whole console launch went for Microsoft.
Some comments are starting to hit the nail on the head with crystal clear demands like “How bout you do some wizardry to lower the fucking price of gamepass,” which really say a lot about the mood that governed. The magical theme from the original tweet has been taken over entirely by angry gamers who are now throwing it right back at Microsoft.
One thing that makes it very clear: the breaking point has been reached for subscription-service price hikes within the gaming community. Between this and the recent Unity fiasco, it really does feel like companies are seeing how much they can push their player base before they get pushed back. And judging from the reaction, that line has very much been crossed.
A weird disconnect is generated, wherein Xbox celebrates adding a big title while the actual player base is in revolt mode. It’s like throwing a party and all the guests showing up to declare they won’t be attending your next party.
The release of the Hogwarts Legacy on Game Pass might just be remembered more for it showing how upset games are with subscription pricing than for the game itself. Whether Microsoft will actually stand up to this backlash, history has yet to tell, but there is no doubt in my mind that the message from the player base is crystal clear. Install-wizards thus wholeheartedly became cancellation wizards.
