Xbox boss Asha Sharma has revealed that the price slash of the Xbox Game Pass has been ‘a good first step’. Towards the end of last year, under the leadership of Phil Spencer, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate received 50% price increase, a decision that infuriated the community.
Xbox boss Asha Sharma
Since taking up the CEO role, Sharma has continued to make reforms at the company. Unsurprisingly, her first decision was to slash the price of Game Pass. A new report by Gamerant includes an internal memo from the CEO explaining how the Game Pass price slash has positively impacted the company.
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In the memo, Sharma said the price slash, which saw Game Pass Ultimate drop from $29.99 per month to $22.99, has led to growth in acquisitions and improved retention for the subscription service. However, no numbers were included in the memo.
The area of concern in the memo read, “Since our price reduction, we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step. We will not solve this in one moment or one launch.”
The CEO acknowledged that the problem with the brand is not totally solved and that they need time and some resolutions to restore the company to the path of “durable growth”.
Xbox boss responds to multi-platform criticism
Xbox CCO Matt Booty
Beyond the price of Game Pass, another sticking point for the Xbox community has been the mention of rival platforms during presentations, as well as bringing first-party titles to rival platforms. Xbox boss said the brand is assessing its approach.
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Xbox CCO Matt Booty recently revealed on the Xbox podcast that the brand would remain transparent about which first-party titles would be multi-platform. Booty said the company makes the announcements clear during their showcases.
Klobrille, an influencer who focuses on the Xbox brand, criticized the company on X regarding showing the logo of rival platforms at Xbox events. “Xbox will continue to show competitive platform logos at upcoming Xbox Games Showcase,” Klobrille wrote.
“I feel like the bare minimum expectation many had was for Xbox to really focus on their own platform at least for the time of the Showcase. Saying “It reflects a decision to be deliberate in how we show up for the players who care most about this brand” while showing competitive platforms at your brand’s Anniversary Showcase a week later does not line up to me.
That’s my opinion on this, I’ve been clear on this topic for months; I’ve expressed my voice and the voice I’m seeing on my channels offensively. They know a part of the core Xbox community is not happy about this path, which is why they pre-addressed that topic today. I still think it’s not the right decision.”
In response to the post, Sharma wrote, “Seeing the feedback on logos. It was a miss, and I own it. We are talking about how we adjust for future XBOX shows.”
Xbox Games Showcase 2026
Xbox has a major summer showcase planned for June 7. It will be interesting to see if the logos of rival platforms will show up at that event or if it will focus on Xbox.
