Xbox co-founder calls Game Pass price hike a ‘betrayal’

Longtime Xbox enthusiasts have recently seen several old exclusive games come to PlayStation 5, while Microsoft has increased prices for Game Pass and Xbox consoles in the United States. Now, one of the original members of the Xbox team, Laura Fryer, is speaking out against her former employer and describing the price increases as a “betrayal” of the trust gamers placed in them.

“With this latest increase in Game Pass, Xbox has lost one of its last advantages,” Fryer said in his latest YouTube video. “It was the best deal in gaming… With these price hikes it feels like a betrayal, like greed for gaming… I recognize that this generation of Xbox consoles is not over yet, it will almost certainly be remembered first and foremost for Microsoft’s greed.”

Fryer then recapped this generation’s two hardware price increases, three separate Game Pass price increases, more expensive games, massive layoffs, and multiple studio layoffs.

“I think all these changes and drama will hurt the Microsoft brand,” Fryer said. “It seems like Xbox is moving toward cloud gaming and away from hardware, but it could also be that they’re just incompetent, they just don’t understand what they’re doing… They need to rebuild trust with players and fans. I know people on the Xbox team who are still there and were there in the beginning… They can fix this and I support them and wish them the best.”

Fryer previously shared his belief that Xbox was abandoning hardware by outsourcing ROG Xbox Ally handheld devices to Asus. Xbox VP Jason Ronald reiterated the company’s commitment to its next-gen hardware earlier this year.

Following the recent Game Pass announcement, Microsoft revealed that the price increases would not take effect immediately for all players. But the more expensive version of Game Pass loses a fan-favorite Call of Duty perk. Some analysts believe an ad-supported Game Pass service will be added in the future.