Microsoft: new games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda will cost $70 from 2023

Microsoft has announced that starting in 2023, new games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks will retail for $70 instead of the previous $60. The increase will only affect new releases such as Forza Motorsport, Redfall and Starfield being developed for Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PCs.

“We have postponed the price increase until after the holidays so that everyone can please their loved ones with a gift in the form of a game. Starting in 2023, our next generation games including Forza Motorsport, Redfall and Starfield will retail for $69.99 across all platforms,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central. “This price reflects the content, scale and technical complexity of these games. Like all other games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will be available on Game Pass on release day.”

Recall that other publishers, including PlayStation Studios, Take-Two Interactive and Activision Blizzard, have long been selling their new games for $70. Obviously, sooner or later, Microsoft had to join this list.

Earlier, the head of the Microsoft Gaming division, Phil Spencer, mentioned a possible price increase for games. In October 2022, he stated that the company hadn’t raised prices in a long time and it probably couldn’t go on forever.

“I think at some point we will have to raise the prices of some things, but on the eve of the holidays, we think it is very important to keep the prices that we have, because now consumers are experiencing more uncertainty than at any time in recent memory” Spencer added.