Xbox Game Pass "too expensive for players", as per leaked memo

• An internal memo from Microsoft Gaming EVP and CEO Asha Sharma has leaked.
• In the memo, she suggested Xbox Game Pass has become too expensive for players and needs "a better value equation".

Xbox Game Pass has "become too expensive", according to a leaked memo written by Microsoft Gaming EVP and CEO Asha Sharma.

The comment was reportedly made as part of an internal memo to employees, which has been obtained by The Verge. It comes less than two months into Sharma’s leadership, after taking over from Microsoft’s former executive VP of gaming Phil Spencer.

In the memo, Sharma called Game Pass "central to gaming value on Xbox". She also stated that the subscription service’s current model "isn’t the final one".

Pricey Game Pass

Microsoft rebranded its Game Pass tiers in October 2025 from Core, Standard and Ultimate to Essential, Premium and Ultimate. Though the highest tier kept its name, its price increased by 50% to $29.99 per month.

The price hike was controversial for many, announced in a tumultuous time of tariffs, inflation and other broader economic changes post-pandemic. The increase was announced just weeks before Microsoft’s $1,000 handheld, the ROG Ally X, released.

Though Microsoft tried to justify the Game Pass price hike with updates to all three tiers, it appears the current model isn’t working as intended six months later.

"Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one," Sharma wrote in the leaked memo.

"Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around."

She also acknowledged rumours about changes to Game Pass pricing and expressed intentions to "go deeper" into this with employees next week.

Any price changes that may follow will come in the wake of significant overhauls in Microsoft’s leadership, including Phil Spencer’s retirement, Xbox president and COO Sarah Bond’s departure, Sharma’s rise within Microsoft Gaming and Matt Booty’s promotion to EVP and chief content officer for Microsoft Gaming.