Microsoft would rather lose some money than lose customers for PlayStation.
The techie withdrew from the planned price hikes for its Xbox Live gaming service after outraged gamers threatened to abandon the flagship console.
“We messed up today and you were right to let us know,” Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold team said in a blog post late Friday. “Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of the game and we haven’t been able to meet the expectations of the players who trust us every day.”
Microsoft reversed the course just about 15 hours after announcing plans to charge $ 59.99 for a six-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold, which currently buys a full year of service.
The company had also said it would increase the one-month subscription price by $ 1 and increase the three-month rate by $ 5.
Players with peeved criticized the plans on Twitter, and some said they were thinking of jumping on Sony’s PlayStation console.
Players also speculated that the price hike was meant to push people to sign up for Microsoft’s monthly Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which allows users to access a game library for $ 10 a month.
But Microsoft said it will leave the current Xbox Live Gold pricing structure in place, including a $ 59.99 one-year subscription. The company will also make free games available without a subscription to Xbox Live Gold in the coming months, according to the blog post.
“We’re turning this moment into an opportunity to adapt Xbox Live to our way of seeing the player at the center of their experience,” Microsoft said in the message.