Game Pass Ultimate subs don't get DLC discounts any more, Microsoft confess, amid reports about Call of Duty sales cannibalisation

You'll get Microsoft Reward points instead

When Microsoft lit the rocket booster nether Game Pass pricing past week, raising the outgo of the Ultimate tier successful the US by 50%, they neglected to archer you that they'd besides scrapped a 10% discount connected DLC for Game Pass games, antecedently disposable to Ultimate subscribers. Now, erstwhile Ultimate subscribers bargain DLC, they'll gain other Microsoft Reward points, which tin beryllium traded for things similar acquisition cards. Rather than redeeming you money, successful different words, they're incentivising you to walk much of your currency wrong Microsoft's business.

"This is not circumstantial to immoderate 1 crippled and reflects each games and DLC purchases," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ian Games successful a statement. "Instead of a discount connected the purchases, Ultimate and Premium subscribers volition gain 10% and 5% - respectively - successful points erstwhile purchasing prime games and add-ons from the Game Pass library. Ultimate members proceed to person 20% discount connected prime games from the Game Pass library. On apical of that, each Rewards members volition gain points erstwhile buying games and add-ons connected the Store, portion Premium and Ultimate subscribers volition gain adjacent more, 2x and 4x respectively."

Microsoft's Game Pass terms hikes person attracted immoderate spicy headlines, and a batch of wrathful posting connected the socials. I'm definite they're arsenic shocked by the antagonistic absorption arsenic you are. Meanwhile, erstwhile US Federal Trade Commission seat Lina Khan has observed (via Eurogamer) that these kinds of work "upgrades" are precisely wherefore the FTC took the corp to tribunal implicit their acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.

In a Xitter post, Khan remarked that the acquisition "has been followed by important terms hikes and layoffs, harming some gamers and developers. As we've seen crossed sectors, expanding marketplace consolidation and expanding prices often spell hand-in-hand. As ascendant firms go too-big-to-care, they tin marque things worse for their customers without having to interest astir the consequences." The FTC made overmuch the aforesaid arguments past year, erstwhile Microsoft announced a smaller terms hike.

Game Pass has made billions for Microsoft, but evidently, the bosses deliberation it could beryllium moving harder for them, not slightest due to the fact that it mightiness beryllium importantly cannibalising nonstop income of Microsoft-published games. Given the timing, it’s imaginable the terms hikes are designed to offset mislaid nonstop income of Call of Duty games – Black Ops 7 launches connected November 14th.

Over the weekend, Bloomberg (paywall) quoted an unnamed erstwhile Microsoft worker arsenic saying that putting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 connected Game Pass resulted successful an interior estimated nonaccomplishment of $300 cardinal successful income gross crossed some console and PC. In their sum of Bloomberg's story, Kotaku cipher that Microsoft would request astir 15 cardinal players to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate for 1 period to marque that up. Bloomberg besides study that Microsoft CFO Amy Hood has “asked Xbox to find different ways to summation profit” – they’re allegedly investigating an advertising-supported mentation of the Xbox crippled streaming service.

Microsoft are making headlines for galore reasons, close present - they're inactive the taxable of a boycott implicit their Israeli subject connections, and they're astir to propulsion the plug connected Windows 10.