Game Pass Won’t Pass Through Your Bottom Line
Changes are coming to Microsoft’s popular service: Xbox Game Pass. …Okay well that’s always been a thing, but this one’s different. This change in policy comes after a case of government intervention. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ran an investigation – the full details of which you can read here. But for you (and your wallet), there’s just one thing you’ll need to know: if your Game Pass subscription has been inactive for long enough, it won’t auto-renew. You’ll lose access to a service you weren’t using, but your bottom line will remain steady. Seems like a fair trade.
But of course, there’s a few other changes coming to the service soon.
For those inactive accounts: before things get cancelled, Microsoft will reach out to remind you of your subscription, letting you know how to cancel. If there’s a price increase, Microsoft will have to make that information clearer.
That added clarity also applies to what the service is and does. The fact that it’ll auto-renew, when auto-renew happens, how to get refunded after an accidental renewal, etc, will all be made clearer.
For the CMA, this move also acts to send a message to other companies who use auto-renew services. A higher-up at the CMA made this clear with a direct warning – those companies “should take note and review their practices to ensure they comply with consumer protection law.”
This news should come as a pleasant surprise to many Game Pass subscribers, especially those who forgot about the service, If you enjoy Game Pass and use it actively, you won’t see as much benefit, but you can still feel that empathetic joy of seeing someone get a better deal out of a service you love.