{"id":22210,"date":"2026-03-01T07:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T07:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=22210"},"modified":"2026-03-01T07:03:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T07:03:34","slug":"make-xbox-game-pass-affordable-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=22210","title":{"rendered":"Make Xbox Game Pass affordable again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"link_wrapped_content\">\n<div class=\"miso-summary-box\">\n<div class=\"miso-summary-content\"><span>Summary created by Smart Answers AI<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"miso-summary-title\" id=\"in-summary\">In summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>PCWorld highlights how Microsoft\u2019s new Xbox leadership under Asha Sharma could address customer frustration over Game Pass Ultimate\u2019s 50% price increase to $29.99 monthly.<\/li>\n<li>Microsoft Rewards points, earned through Bing searches and Xbox gaming, now only redeem for Xbox gift cards instead of direct Game Pass subscriptions at significantly worse exchange rates.<\/li>\n<li>The article suggests Microsoft should restore the previous 35,000-point offer for three-month Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions to rebuild loyalty among long-time customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"wp-block-bigbite-multi-title\" \/>\n<p>Microsoft users are tough. Gamers are tougher. <\/p>\n<p>No one complains more about the direction of a franchise than a customer who just dropped $60 or more on a new PC or Xbox game, only to find it riddled with bugs or a lifeless upgrade.<\/p>\n<p>Both sets of traditionally Microsoft customers are currently heading for the door. Why? They feel betrayed. Microsoft has gutted the loyalty programs designed to keep them happy, lifelong customers. But a new leadership team could right these wrongs by refocusing on two programs that have kept them happy: Xbox Game Pass and Microsoft Rewards.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on. In the last few days, Microsoft\u2019s Xbox leadership has shifted, as Asha Sharma has displaced both Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond as the next leaders of the division. Separately, Microsoft has quietly raised the redemption value of its Microsoft Rewards points. The price of \u201crewards\u201d like gift cards for Amazon, DoorDash, and Xbox have gone up, diluting their value.<\/p>\n<p>The answer, I think, is both obvious <em>and<\/em> novel: drastically lower the price of Microsoft\u2019s Game Pass subscription services, but <em>only<\/em> within the Rewards points framework. Why not take your most loyal customers and reward them for engaging with your platform while placing the burden of any price increases on less committed customers?<\/p>\n<div class=\"extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Microsoft Rewards offers easy ways to accumulate Rewards points. It may sound hokey, but it can pay for Microsoft gaming subscriptions and other perks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-solution-is-right-in-front-of-you-microsoft\">The solution is right in front of you, Microsoft<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re unfamiliar with Microsoft Rewards, it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/393308\/how-to-use-microsoft-rewards-to-get-xbox-game-pass-for-pc-and-more-for-free.html\">Microsoft\u2019s loyalty program<\/a> that\u2019s been around for years. Search on Bing, earn Rewards points. Play a PC game using Xbox Game Pass, ditto: You can earn more points for playing Game Pass games on subsequent days or playing on PC, the cloud, and more. Even better, it\u2019s totally free. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve argued before that it doesn\u2019t require that much of a commitment, but it\u2019s also true that Microsoft has made it increasingly harder to trade in Rewards points for something useful. Not only have the values gone up, but Rewards points now can only be used to purchase Xbox gift cards for gaming. You can\u2019t trade in Rewards points directly for a Game Pass subscription.<\/p>\n<p>Game Pass today covers both the PC and Xbox. In October, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/2927011\/microsoft-hikes-xbox-game-pass-prices-up-to-a-staggering-50.html\">Microsoft also raised the price of Game Pass Ultimate<\/a> by a whopping 50 percent ($29.99 per month). It has all turned off legions of loyal customers, including PCWorld staffers. (I have points stored up, so I\u2019m still in the program for now.)<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what I would do. First, roll back the decision that prevented Rewards loyalists from buying Game Pass subscriptions directly with Rewards points. That was simply a dumb hurdle that pissed people off.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, I\u2019d lower the price of Xbox Game Pass subscriptions and dramatically so \u2014 but only when redeemed with Rewards points.<\/p>\n<div class=\"extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Infographic1_SKUChooser_EN-US-Global-fc84811d1236dd22e6df-1900x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"Xbox Game Pass new tiers\" class=\"wp-image-2927837\" width=\"1200\" height=\"682\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"><\/p>\n<p>            <\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Even with lower-cost tiers, Xbox Game Pass still isn\u2019t cheap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"imageCredit\">Microsoft<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"theres-nothing-wrong-with-buying-goodwill\">There\u2019s nothing wrong with buying goodwill<\/h2>\n<p>You can pay for Game Pass and Microsoft\u2019s other gift cards with cash. But the <em>only<\/em> way that you can earn Rewards points is by interacting with Microsoft services. Yes, \u201cpaying\u201d users with Microsoft scrip for searching and playing games and the like is bribery of a sort, but it\u2019s no worse than a big social-media presence buying followers. I\u2019ve gone back and forth about whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/435332\/the-4-reasons-i-switched-from-google-to-bing.html\">I prefer Bing Search over Google<\/a> and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/402325\/searching-for-bing-how-microsofts-search-engine-has-lost-its-way.html\">vice versa<\/a>, but for most searches they\u2019re pretty close \u2014 and Bing has backed down on AI summaries replacing real search results, at least on the web.<\/p>\n<p>Before Microsoft mucked up its Rewards exchange program, you could exchange 35,000 Rewards points for three months of Game Pass Ultimate. Now, 1,000 Rewards points buys you $1 Xbox credit, and Xbox Ultimate costs $29.99 per month, or nearly $90 for a three-month subscription. That\u2019s insane.<\/p>\n<p>Think about this, though, Microsoft. Return to the 35,000-point offer for a three-month Ultimate subscription while keeping the $29.99\/mo cash price. I\u2019m not arguing that other gift cards need to be changed. It\u2019s currently 10,500 points for a $10 Amazon gift card, and maybe it\u2019s fine to leave it that way. But reducing the Microsoft point price for a Microsoft subscription sends the correct message, which is that Microsoft will reward Microsoft loyalists.<\/p>\n<p>I mean, let\u2019s face it. Asha Sharma has moved from Microsoft\u2019s Core AI business to Xbox. If there\u2019s <em>any<\/em> business that understands spending (gobs of) cash to fund users, it\u2019s the AI token business. Allowing Microsoft fans to partake in a little of that for playing games and searching and more just makes sense. And if people whine, <em>\u201cBut that makes me use Bing!<\/em>\u201c\u2013 well, they don\u2019t <em>have<\/em> to.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s been talk about whether Sharma is a gamer, or whether the \u201ceverything is an Xbox\u201d strategy was a smart idea. No one\u2019s quite sure what a next-gen console might look like, or how it might be priced, with memory and storage in such short supply. Is Xbox just a PC running Windows or something different? All good questions.<\/p>\n<p>New leadership, however, is a chance to right past wrongs. And funneling users back into Xbox while easing the pain on their wallets simply seems like a smart idea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3069112\/make-xbox-game-pass-affordable-again.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary created by Smart Answers AI In summary: PCWorld highlights how Microsoft\u2019s new Xbox leadership under Asha Sharma could address customer frustration over Game Pass Ultimate\u2019s 50% price increase to $29.99 monthly. Microsoft Rewards points, earned through Bing searches and Xbox gaming, now only redeem for Xbox gift cards instead of direct Game Pass subscriptions &#8230; <a title=\"Make Xbox Game Pass affordable again\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=22210\" aria-label=\"Read more about Make Xbox Game Pass affordable again\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Make-Xbox-Game-Pass-affordable-again.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22212,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22210\/revisions\/22212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}