In 2023, Microsoft will increase the cost of first-party Xbox games from $60 to $70

Next month, Microsoft will offer Xbox Game Studios titles for $69.99, joining Sony, Ubisoft, and other developers.
Next month, Microsoft will raise the cost of its first-party Xbox games. New full-priced Xbox Game Studios titles like Redfall, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport will start selling in 2023 for $69.99 instead of the customary $59.99. The price increase is in line with what rival publishers Take-Two, Sony, and Ubisoft charge for their own titles.

Microsoft’s statement regarding the price hikes reads as follows:

We’ve held on price increases until after the holidays so families can enjoy the gift of gaming. Starting in 2023 our new, built for next-gen, full-priced games, including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield, will launch at $69.99 USD on all platforms. This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles. As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.

The price increase for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Game Studios games is not entirely unexpected. As soon as current-gen consoles were released two years ago, the era of the $70 game quickly began, with Sony selling its own PS5 games for $49.99 to $69.99. Microsoft has concentrated on launching Xbox Game Pass with its own games while keeping the cost of its subscription services unchanged.
Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, previously made a suggestion that price increases might occur after the holidays. “We’ve kept the price of our console, the price of the games, and the price of our subscription. We won’t be able to continue doing that indefinitely, Spencer acknowledged in an interview in October. Although we believed it was crucial to keep our current prices going into the holiday, I do believe we will eventually need to raise some of the prices on some items.