Microsoft to Expand Payment Infrastructure, New System to Include Gratuity for Live Services
GAME INTERCEPTOR // INDUSTRY
Recent quarterly earnings reports revealed plans to rework Xbox Live payment infrastructure to include optional gratuity systems for Live services.
“Gamers have been asking us, ‘Why can’t we pay more for this?’ for ages, so we decided to open up the system and allow customers to pay as much as they would like” Clive Chesterton told journalists, following the report.
“We had been increasing the price of our Live Services for years to keep up with demand — Xbox Game Pass Ultimate already exceeds what we believed any responsible consumer would willingly pay at $22.99 monthly, but our customers kept telling us ‘We want to pay more!’ So we decided to open our system up to allow gratuity payments.”
The report indicates that basic gratuity payments are set to begin at 20%.
Post-publication update: Major grocery retailers, including those utilizing self-checkout, are reportedly monitoring Microsoft’s gratuity rollout. Some have begun trialing optional gratuity and round-up prompts in select locations.