Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft lowers prices in the Middle East: and in Europe?
Xbox Game Pass receives a significant price drop in some countries in the Middle East from February 2022, which for the moment does not affect Europe but opens a window, if only, to the possibility of changes not necessarily upward in Microsoft's service.
The countries affected by the Xbox Game Pass price drop are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, belonging to an area quite different from Europe both in economic terms and general geopolitical conditions, so it is unlikely that the initiatives taken in those parts will be reflected in Europe in the short term, but a downward price change is nevertheless interesting, because it does not happen often.
With the general repricing, Xbox Game Pass subscription pricing is substantially reduced from February 2022, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription in the UAE dropping to $9.99 per month (instead of the current €14.99) and console or PC subscription dropping to $6.99 per month (from the current $9.99).
In Saudi Arabia, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate goes to SAR 39.99 per month (about €9.37) from the initial SAR 54.99 (about €12.89), while the console or PC-only subscription goes to SAR 29.99 per month (about €7) from the initial SAR 39.99.
"We periodically re-evaluate the pricing of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold locally to offer the best service in each country," wrote Xbox Gulf, the local branch of Microsoft Xbox, in an official statement. "These price adjustments are tailored to the conditions in each country, it is simply a continuation of the adjustments we made in other countries last year."
These variations are studied according to different local conditions in terms of market and potential audience, so it is difficult for a global move to affect the situation in Europe, but we await any news on this from Microsoft.
