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Microsoft increases the price of Xbox dev kits by $500
Players aren't the only ones facing higher price tags from Xbox. According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft has upped the cost of the Xbox Development Kit from $1,500 to $2,000. That's a 33 percent jump in cost for these custom hardware kits, which are essential for devs to make and test games for release on the console."The adjustment reflects macroeconomic developments," Microsoft said in an email sent to Xbox devs and seen by The Verge. "We remain committed to providing high-quality tools and support for your development efforts." Although the macroeconomics in question are almost certainly the tariffs enacted by the US, it appears this is a blanket increase that will impact developers in other countries as well. The new kit costs appear to be effective immediately.The change caps off a series of price increases for the Xbox ecosystem. Game Pass prices recently rose, with the Ultimate tier now costing $30 a month compared to the previous $20. And Microsoft has upped the cost of the Xbox twice this year, once in May and again in September. Between these additional expenses and the little matter of cutting thousands of gaming jobs earlier this year, a lot of us are giving up on Xbox before Microsoft can disappoint us yet again.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-increases-the-price-of-xbox-dev-kits-by-500-190000419.html?src=rss
The Morning After: Xbox console revenue fell off a cliff this year
Microsoft's latest earnings report for the quarter ending on September 30 revealed that revenue from the Xbox hardware fell 30 percent year over year.Worse, in a way, this revenue decline doesn't reflect any dip in sales caused by the console's $20 to $70 price hike, since that took effect on October 3 - after this earnings report. (Oh, and Microsoft raised the price for its Game Pass Ultimate subscription from $20 to $30 in October.)Fortunately, revenue from Xbox content and services, specifically, remained relatively unchanged from the same period last year. That's the Game Pass component of Microsoft's gaming business.When Microsoft started cutting down its global workforce earlier this year, Xbox was hit hard, with the company canceling games, like a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, and even shutting the Xbox studio working on it.More broadly, Microsoft's revenue is up, with CEO Satya Nadella posting a few highlights about the company's earnings call on X, which mostly focused on AI. He said the company will increase its AI capacity by 80 percent this year.- Mat SmithGet Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The news you might have missed
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