Xbox CEO Considers Making Game Pass Cheaper And Bundling Netflix

Asha Sharma took the reigns as head of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division a little over a month ago and has already signaled a very different strategy for the company. In an interview with The Information, Sharma discussed some of the potential changes coming to its subscription service, Game Pass, including the possibility of partnering with Netflix to offer players a bundle.

After repeated price increases that have been applied to every tier of Game Pass, with Ultimate hitting $29.99 a month, Sharma is looking to make the Xbox ecosystem more affordable. One of the goals the new CEO has set is to make "future consoles and products like Game Pass more enticing to a broader range of customers," and one way of doing that is to "offer lower-priced tiers."


Sharma didn’t share many details on these lower cost tiers, but one likely option is to offer an ad supported plan. There have been several rumors that Xbox has been kicking around this idea for its cloud gaming service, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility to use this strategy with Game Pass. Moreover, it’s something that other entertainment services offer to customers, so it’s not a novel concept.

Bundles are another option that might win over new customers, and to that end, Sharma has “kicked around ideas” with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters regarding the possibility. Peters notes that the two companies are still trying to figure out how a bundle could work for both sides while being enticing to customers, and that “Microsoft's still trying to figure out how to make the Game Pass bundle work for Microsoft."

It will be interesting to watch Xbox navigate the next few years, but hopefully it can find a path forward with an ecosystem fans can continue to enjoy while keeping competition healthy in the gaming console market.