Microsoft employees continue to maintain free access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate after complaints

Microsoft had planned to remove the free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate feature for most of its 238,000 employees in January, but the company is now reversing that decision after employee complaints. edges It was reported yesterday that Microsoft employees voiced their objections to the removal of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in 2024, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer personally commenting on the situation.

Spencer has now confirmed that the decision will be reversed and that Microsoft employees will retain Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefits. Here’s Spencer’s full message to Microsoft employees on the company’s internal Viva platform:

After exploring this further with the team, I just want to reiterate that there will be no changes to Game Pass availability in 2024. If you have access to the Game Pass offer today, you will still have access. I appreciate taking the time to update myself and apologize for the questions and confusion I may have caused. Thank you for supporting Xbox.

The cancellation means Microsoft employees will continue to have free access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which they’ve had since the subscription option launched in 2019. Microsoft employees have long enjoyed free access to Xbox subscriptions, with Xbox Live Gold available as a perk to employees for years before.

It’s not immediately clear why Microsoft originally decided to remove the feature, but it appears to be a decision between convenience and human resources, as Spencer was unaware of the plan and moved quickly to revert the change.