Amazon Prime may bundle an absurd number of services under its belt, but it looks like members will soon start to pay a little bit more by the end of February. After four years of holding the same price points of $119 USD per year and $12.99 USD per month, Prime subscriptions are now set to increase to $139 and $14.99 for yearly and monthly plans respectively. This news comes out of Amazon’s latest Q4 earnings report, via The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the outlet, this rise by $20 and $2 dollars was attributed to “investment in the company’s entertainment offerings,” namely the Prime Video streaming service, which recently closed a $1 billion deal to air Thursday Night Football for the NFL next season. With an audience of over 200 million viewers, this also includes the many original series’ introduced in recent years with such high-profile adaptations as superhero series The Boys, three seasons of The Wheel of Time, as well as the upcoming Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, which boasts the most expensive TV budget in history.

​Over the years, the offerings of Amazon Prime have grown from a simple shipping saver for shopping to hosting a number of useful benefits. In addition to a content-rich streaming service in Prime Video, members are also granted access to readily available libraries of music, books, magazines, as well as Twitch/Prime Gaming benefits, which unlocks a monthly selection of free games, DLC, and loot rewards for users on PC. Of course, with the rise of streaming during the pandemic era, much of the company’s most noticeable growth has been specifically with Prime Video.

“Since 2018, Prime Video has tripled the number of Amazon originals,” Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said during the earnings call. Referencing the price hike, he cited “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits, and the increased use we have seen, along with increased costs and inflation,” each factored into the final decision. In addition to Prime Video benefits, Amazon was said to have experienced growth elsewhere as well, doubling its same-day delivery options and an extended variety of benefits like “pharmacy delivery, grocery benefits, and podcasts.”

​What do you think? Are you bummed that Amazon Prime is getting more expensive, or are you not too worried because you still have several months left on your yearly plan? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!​

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