Why did you need to double the price of Xbox live gold, Microsoft?

I will try to keep this brief, as I have been processing the news throughout the day, and have been trying to find the words to appropriately and respectfully express my disappointment and sadness over the latest price hike of Xbox live gold. Before I start,
I want to preface by saying this, I am not upset that the price was increased, I am upset at how it was done, and what it communicates about Xbox's core values and principles.

I have been a loyal Xbox customer for years, own several products, have enjoyed and still enjoy game pass ultimate. I believe game pass ultimate is the best deal in gaming, and that Microsoft has made some very pro-consumer, and pro-accessibility moves in
the past. I am also a fan of the recent Xbox hardware, excellently designed, quiet, and very stylish.

When I woke up this morning, I never thought that my fandom for Xbox would be totally and completely shattered as it was only a few hours later.

As many of you reading this likely already know, Xbox has increase the price of gold from what was essentially $60/12 months a year ago, to $120/12 months for new subscribers. This is clearly a push for Xbox to incentivize people towards Xbox game pass ultimate,
and away from gold. I grant you, Ultimate is an amazing value, but you do not have people sign up for your service by turning a lesser product they already enjoy into a terrible value, you do so by increasing the value of the "premium" product you want them
to use. This move by Microsoft comes off as aggressive, manipulative, out of touch, and extremely anti-consumer, and anti accessibility. Let me explain each.

The move comes off as quite aggressive as it is clear that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is being prioritized and pushed. The price of Xbox live gold was increased, but the service did not receive any substantial changes or improvements over last year to warrant
a 50% price hike. This comes off as very much an aggressive tactic, needlessly aggressive in my humble opinion, as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was already enjoying very positive public opinion and growth (based on Microsoft's own reports).

The move comes off as manipulative, as it has made Xbox live gold a terrible value. The idea appears to be making Xbox live Ultimate come off as a much better value given the minor price differences. In short, its an incentive to force people who may not
want to subscribe to Ultimate, to feel as if they "have" to subscribe to ultimate, or else they are getting taken advantage of financially.

This move appears out of touch and anti consumer as we are in the middle of a global pandemic, a pandemic where millions of people have lost their jobs, and more are struggling to pay the bills than ever before. We are all socially isolated, increasingly
depressed, and anxious about the future. We have very few safe options for socializing with friends and loved ones. Online gaming happens to be one of those options. Now, at this moment, Microsoft decides that doubling the price of Xbox live gold, a service
required to simply play online with our friends and family, is a good idea? Really? Please Microsoft, have a little heart. I know profits are important, I know you have a responsibility to shareholders, but you have stated that you were very profitable in
the gaming space already. Game Pass Ultimate is growing quickly, Why do this? It just comes off as very greedy and out of touch.

Finally, this move is anti-accessibility, because "access" doesn't and shouldn't only refer to someone's physical ability, but also to someone's status that impacts their ability to play. Microsoft makes this point clear themselves when talking about Xcloud.
So, I ask, why make gaming on Xbox less accessible by doubling the price of a service that is essential for online interactions? If someone was just interested in playing Fortnite, Apex, or Warzones, now they have to pay $120/year for that. This is ludicrous,
and should not stand. On competitor's devices, we can play free to play games without a premium sub, why not on Xbox? Further, Xbox games on PC do not have a paywall, so why, again, do you double the price of the already existing paywall?

As I said at the start of this post, I was an Xbox fan for years, truly admired some of the pro consumer moves you have pioneered in the last 3 years. In fact, in was those pro consumer moves that inspired me to become an Xbox ambassador. I believed that
you truly cared about your customers and fans. Backwards compatibility, cross play, using your controllers and accessories across generations, all great steps. But this, well, this really highlights what in my opinion is the core beyond the veil. This move,
at least for me, spits in the face of everything you have espoused with regard to caring about your customers, putting the customer first, being accessible, and equity minded.

You are not a charity, I get that. I don't expect you to be, but I expect you to be better than this. To live up to the values that you espouse.

As a loyal Xbox fan, I am beyond disappointed, and feel lied to by Phil Spencer and others.

Thank you for reading.

:)