Xbox’s Hike on Game Pass Shows Cost of Lost ‘Call of Duty’ Sales

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division surprised many video game enthusiasts this week when the company announced a 50% price hike, to $30 a month, for the highest level tier in its Game Pass subscription service.

Online reaction was swift, with California Governor Gavin Newsom blaming the price increase on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and video game retailer GameStop Corp. postinga cartoon suggesting customers would be better off just buying games in stores.

The price hike and other changes to the Game Pass plans are a sign that Xbox’s big streaming push is still not generating the revenue ...