Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik / Staff via Getty
An unexpected name has offered their thoughts on the current Xbox Game Pass controversy, as California Governor Gavin Newson has 'blamed' US President Donald Trump for the incredibly unpopular price increases, perhaps in the hope of getting gamers on his side.
It hasn't been a great year for Xbox so far after the gaming giant has announced a number of price increases across both its consoles and game releases, and the most recent announcement might just have topped it all.
Many have considered Game Pass one of the only reasons why anyone would continue to choose Xbox over PlayStation in the last couple of years, as its extensive catalogue and access to all first party games on day one rightfully earned it the title of the 'best deal in gaming'.
This became even stronger following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, as you could not only play massive games like Starfield and DOOM for 'no extra cost' when they released, but you'd also get access to Call of Duty every single year for 'free'.
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However, that good will has been thrown away following the announcement of new Game Pass changes, which not only bumped up the monthly cost by 50%, but also removed that day-one access from the middle 'Premium' tier.
This has rightfully left many outraged and rushing to cancel their subscriptions, and one prominent politician has taken it as the perfect opportunity to levy another attack on Donald Trump.
Quoting the news of the Game Pass price increases, California Governor Gavin Newson wrote on X: "Thanks, @realDonaldTrump!!"
This is another layer in the ongoing political battle between Newson and the current president, with many suspecting that it will eventually lead to the former announcing his intention to run in 2028.
Of course, the 'thanks' in this instance is very much a sarcastic remark and is in essence Newsom 'blaming' Trump for the price increase, likely as a consequence of the 'Liberation Day' tariffs that have caused financial instability across the nation.
Nintendo already increased the price of a number of key accessories for the Switch 2 following the tariffs, and many believe that the repeated price hikes for consoles in recent months have come as a consequence of Trump's economic plans.
Unlike consoles and other hardware, tariffs won't affect Game Pass subscriptions in any way, but it could be implied that financial pressure across Microsoft has forced the change.
If Newsom is intending to run for office in the next election, it's not a bad idea to get the roughly 205 million Americans who play games on board — although a worryingly small number of them unfortunately own an Xbox.
