Microsoft to Stop Automatically Charging Inactive Game Pass Subscriptions

Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service has been a boon for gamers. The company is now discontinuing the automatic billing of subscriptions made after an account goes inactive, which would have cost users $9 each month.

Microsoft has announced that they will be halting the automatic charge of inactive Game Pass subscriptions. This is a change from previous practices, which charged users after cancelling their subscription.

Image credit: Microsoft

Microsoft will no longer charge Game Pass memberships that are no longer active and have been dormant for a long time.

This is all down to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom, which investigated Microsoft’s Xbox membership policies and found them to be less than optimal for customers. Aside from the modification addressing dormant subscriptions, Microsoft has been pushed to enhance its auto-renewal procedure for subscribers, among other things.

According to the CMA, the following are all of the changes:

Better upfront information: Microsoft will provide more transparent, upfront information to help customers understand their Xbox membership, such as whether the subscription will auto-renew unless the customer turns it off, when the subscription will auto-renew, how much it will cost, and how the customer can get a refund after an accidental renewal.
Microsoft will call current 12-month contract customers and provide them the opportunity to cancel their contract and get a pro-rata refund.
Existing customers who haven’t used their subscriptions in a long time but are still paying will be contacted by Microsoft. Customers will be notified how to cancel their payments, and if they do not utilize their subscriptions, Microsoft will cease accepting payments.
Microsoft will provide clearer alerts of any future price increases, and will ensure that consumers understand how to turn off auto-renewal if they don’t want to pay the increased fee.

“Gamers need clear and timely information to make educated decisions when signing up for auto-renewing memberships and subscriptions,” stated CMA Executive Director of Enforcement Michael Grenfell. “We are thus glad that Microsoft has given the CMA these official pledges to enhance the fairness of their operations and safeguard consumers, as well as the fact that they will be issuing refunds to some customers.”

“Other firms that provide auto-renewing memberships and subscriptions should take notice of this and assess their policies to ensure that they comply with consumer protection laws.”

Despite the fact that the CMA is located in the United Kingdom, a Microsoft representative informed PC Gamer that these improvements would be “accessible internationally shortly.”

CMA is the source of this information (via PC Gamer)