Unhappy Microsoft Workers Express Concerns Over Loss of Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Microsoft is eliminating the complimentary Xbox Game Pass Ultimate perk for a majority of its 238,000 employees, and there is some discontent among them. According to sources familiar with Microsoft’s strategy, the company has begun informing its employees this week that the free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefit for permanent Microsoft workers will no longer be offered starting in January 2024.

While Xbox employees will still retain this privilege, the vast majority of Microsoft employees who are not part of Xbox or Microsoft Gaming will lose this benefit next year. However, Microsoft employees will have the option to purchase a discounted 12-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription from the company’s internal store.

A number of Microsoft employees have expressed their objections to the removal of this benefit through the company’s internal messaging platform. These employee posts have even caught the attention of Xbox chief Phil Spencer, who has stated that he was not aware of the changes and will investigate the matter.

We have reached out to Microsoft for comment on the removal of the Game Pass benefit, but the company did not respond in time for publication.

The removal of this employee benefit by Microsoft comes after Xbox Game Pass experienced its first price hike a few months ago. The cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was raised from $14.99 to $16.99 per month, and there were also price increases for the Xbox Series X console in most markets outside of the US. Additionally, Microsoft introduced Xbox Game Pass Core in September as a replacement for Xbox Live Gold.

More than a year ago, Xbox chief Phil Spencer cautioned that growth of Xbox Game Pass on console had slowed down, leading Microsoft to shift its focus towards PC Game Pass throughout 2023. However, Microsoft has not provided updated subscriber numbers for Game Pass in almost two years.

Microsoft previously announced that Xbox Game Pass had reached 25 million subscribers in January 2022, but there have been no updates since then, despite games like Starfield and Forza Motorsport being added to Game Pass throughout 2023.