Microsoft is changing its employee perks, and many employees will soon lose access to a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. According to The Verge, the firm began alerting employees this week that this benefit will be pulled out starting in January 2024.
While employees in the Xbox division will continue to receive this benefit, individuals working outside of the gaming sector will need to purchase a covered 12-month subscription from Microsoft's internal store in order to continue using the programme.
Some staff were upset by the decision, forcing Xbox CEO Phil Spencer to step in. Spencer is said to be unaware of the situation and is aggressively researching the problem.
This modification follows Microsoft's earlier changes to Xbox Game Pass pricing. Certain Xbox Game Pass subscriptions received price increases in July, with the Ultimate tier now costing $16.99 (£12.99) per month. In addition, Microsoft raised the price of the Xbox Series X in the majority of nations in August.
In September, Microsoft also launched the Xbox Game Pass Core membership tier, thereby replacing the long-standing Xbox Live Gold subscription programme.
According to the most recent data from January 2022, Xbox Game Pass has over 25 million subscribers, confirming the service's sustained popularity among players. While Game Pass growth on consoles has stopped Phil Spencer stated in October that the number of PC customers was fast expanding.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the September release of "Starfield" led to an increase in Game Pass subscriptions, breaking the previous record for the most new subscriptions in a single day. These modifications reflect Microsoft's changing attitude to gaming services and employee benefits.
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