Microsoft may be introducing a brand new “buy now, pay later” feature on the Xbox Store, new evidence suggests.
The Twitter/X account of open-source Xbox Cloud Gaming tool Better xCloud has shared findings from a recent datamine, suggesting that Microsoft may be introducing a “buy now, pay later” feature on the Xbox Store. Store dialog text such as “Buy what you love and pay later” and “Pay later options for flexibility to break payments up over weeks or months” have appeared on the official Xbox website back-end.
Going by the datamined file, Xbox may be offering the new “buy now, pay later” feature via PayPal and Klarna.
PayPal Payment Option
Text related to the PayPal payment option can be seen below.
- “PayPal Pay Later”
- “Pay in 4 interest free, bi-weekly payments, or spread payments up to 24 months”
- “Continue with PayPal
Klarna Payment Option
Text related to the Klarna payment option can be seen below.
- “Klarna Flexible Payments”
- “Split your purchase into three payments, once at purchase and then every 30 days”
- “Continue with Klarna”
Based on the above description, it looks like PayPal will offer an interest free bi-weekly payment option and one that spreads payments up to 24 months, possibly with interest applied. Meanwhile, Klarna will apparently allow users to split their purchase amount into three payments that can be spread over every 30 days after the initial payment.
It’s currently unclear whether the new “buy now, pay later” feature will be available only for hardware and accessories, as is already the case with PlayStation and Steam, or if this will also be applicable to physical and/or digital game purchases.
During a recent interview, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma talked about continuing to look at new business models, as that is what is needed for console, rather than just the most premium, high performance product in the world. She believes the market has reached a point where it will be hard to imagine mass audiences being able to afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console generation.
