Xbox games: ‘Starfield’ and other upcoming first-party titles will be more expensive starting in 2023

Xbox’s parent company Microsoft confirmed a looming price hike for upcoming first-party games. “Starfield,” along with other yet-to-be-released titles for Xbox Series X/S, will cost more starting next year.

Microsoft confirmed the price changes would take effect sometime next year. There was no specific schedule provided, but the price increase will be implemented for new first-party games launching on Xbox Series X/S. That includes Bethesda’s “Starfield,” Arkane’s “Redfall,” and “Forza Motorsport.”

AAA games published by Xbox Game Studios have been priced at $60. But Microsoft confirmed the games mentioned would cost $70.

“This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” the company said in a statement to IGN. This should not come as a surprise, though. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has previously hinted at the possibility of price hikes for Xbox consoles and services.

Last October, he noted that the prices for Xbox consoles, first-party games, and Game Pass subscriptions have not changed for a while now. But Spencer admitted that Microsoft could not keep that going forever. “I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things,” Spencer said at the WSJ Tech Live. He added, however, that there are no plans to implement price hikes this holiday.

Microsoft assured Xbox fans that nothing would change when it comes to bringing first-party titles to Xbox Game Pass at launch. This means subscribers should not have to worry about shelling out an additional $10 once “Starfield,” “Redfall,” and “Forza Motorsport” come out in 2023. But they would have to keep paying for a Game Pass subscription to keep playing the games.

For now, it is unclear if price increases are also in the works for Game Pass and the Xbox Series X/S consoles. But given Microsoft’s previous statements, gamers cannot completely rule out its possibility.

“Starfield” and “Redfall” were both supposed to launch this year, but Bethesda announced they had to be delayed to give developers more time. No exact release dates have been announced yet, but the publisher previously said both games will be available in the first half of 2023. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty confirmed last month that “Redfall” will precede “Starfield.”

Both games will be the first AAA games exclusively launching on Xbox Series X/S and PC after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax (Bethesda’s parent company) in 2021 for $7.5 billion. “Forza Motorsport” was also confirmed to be released in spring 2023.