Xbox’s website experienced an overload as players scrambled to cancel their Game Pass subscriptions following a significant price increase.
The subscription service has undergone major changes, with Microsoft introducing a new tier system as of Wednesday, October 1.
The new tiers are Essential (a rebranding of Core), Premium, and Ultimate. The Ultimate tier has seen a 50 percent price increase, now costing $29.99 a month.
While Xbox has promoted this as a good deal, highlighting Ultimate perks like Ubisoft+ Classics, which includes older Ubisoft games such as Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and Fortnite Crew, many subscribers are dissatisfied.
Users expressed their frustration on Reddit, vowing to cancel their subscriptions due to the price hike.
“I was off and on Ultimate recently. At $20 it wasn’t always an easy decision. Now at $30 it’s a very easy decision,” one user remarked.
“…30 a month. That’s an instant cancelation,” another added, noting: “I’ll just buy and own my games. Thanks.”
“I had been thinking of cancelling, but seems like they made the choice for me,” commented a third.
As a result, many flocked to Xbox’s cancellation page to follow through on their intentions.
However, they soon found the website had crashed, likely due to the surge of users trying to cancel their subscriptions and save money.
On social media, users reported the site was ‘overloaded,’ with many experiencing issues loading the page.
Those who managed to access the site found it ‘running pretty slow,’ according to The Gamer.
Currently, the Xbox website is operational again, though the duration of the outage is unknown.
According to the Xbox website: “You can cancel an Xbox subscription at any time. Turning off recurring billing will stop future charges for a subscription and grant you its benefits until its expiration date.
“You may also be eligible to cancel immediately with a refund; however, not all subscription charges can be refunded.”
This situation is likely unexpected for Microsoft, which probably anticipated increased revenue from the new pricing structure.
This isn’t the first time Xbox has upset its player base.
In January 2021, Microsoft announced a price increase for Xbox Live Gold, effectively doubling the annual cost from $59.99 to $119.99 for many users.
This move was justified as aligning with the growing value of Game Pass, but fans perceived it as unfair, especially since Gold was necessary for most online gameplay.
The backlash was swift and overwhelming, prompting Microsoft to quickly apologize and reverse the decision within 24 hours.
As a gesture of goodwill, they also removed the Gold requirement for playing free-to-play online games like Fortnite and Apex Legends.
Many Xbox gamers are likely hoping for a similar reversal of the recent price increase.