Will Microsoft Really Remove The Xbox Live Gold Paywall For Multiplayer
Xbox Live Gold is a recurring subscription service required to access multiplayer services on Xbox consoles. It costs around $60 per year if you purchase annual time cards, although Microsoft itself is no longer offering the option to buy 12 months of Xbox Live Gold digitally, although it remains available via some other retailers.
Microsoft’s official line on why they’ve decided to do away with the 12-month digital subscription is fairly vague and non-committal, but it hasn’t stopped rife speculation that Microsoft has removed it because it’s gearing up to do away with Xbox Live Gold entirely.
Is this a realistic thing to expect in the future? Yes, it is. But I would be surprised if it happens any time soon.
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Should I Get Xbox Live Gold Or Xbox Game Pass
This depends on your gaming habits. Xbox Live Gold’s biggest selling point is not the free games, but it’s being able to play online. Are you someone who is going to play a few games online and only those games on a regular basis? Then you’ll want Xbox Live Gold.
On the other hand, if you want what is the equivalent to “Netflix for video games,” then Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is an easy choice. You have more than 100 games to choose from, and you’ll be able to play them from multiple devices. Tack on Xbox Live Gold, and you get a tremendous value for $15 a month. Put another way, you get to play dozens of games per year for the price of just three new console games purchased at retail .
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Is The Xbox Live Gold Price Worth It
If you want to play online, you need to grab yourself an Xbox Live Gold subscription to do so. However, if you’re not looking for multiplayer, you might be struggling for reasons to pick up a new service.
One of those reasons may be the Games with Gold program which offers free Xbox titles every month in a similar vein to Sony’s own PlayStation Plus offerings. This is included with your Xbox Live Gold membership, so if you regularly find yourself looking for something new to play there are some benefits here.
Plus, those Xbox Live Gold member discounts will come in handy if you’re a regular shopper, so if you’re spending a lot on that digital marketplace you may well make back the Xbox Live Gold price overall.
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Does Xbox Live Cost Money
If you have an Xbox One or Xbox 360, Microsofts Xbox Live Gold service is required to play multiplayer games online. Xbox Live Gold is Microsofts online gaming subscription service for the Xbox One and Xbox 360. If you try to use the online mutiplayer features within games without Xbox Live Gold, youll be stopped in your tracks and told you need Xbox Live Gold to continue. Xbox Live Gold is absolutely worth it if you want to play multiplayer games on your Xbox One.
Do you really need Xbox Live Gold? If you want to play online multiplayer on your Xbox One or Xbox 360, you will need Xbox Live Gold. Your subscription also enables access to the party system and voice chat. Xbox Live Gold also isnt required if you want to watch Netflix and Hulu, or use other media-streaming apps.
Is it worth getting Xbox Live Gold? You dont need Xbox Live Gold if youre happy playing games offline. You can still try game demos, watch Netflix or Hulu, access Skype, and more. But, if you want to play multiplayer games, Xbox Live Gold is a necessity.4 days ago
Do you still need Xbox Live to play online? According to Microsofts official page for Xbox Live Gold, paid online games such as Borderlands 3, Mortal Kombat 11, and more still requires an active subscription to Xbox Live Gold for online multiplayer. For players who are fond of paid online games, an Xbox Live Gold subscription is still a requirement.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
If you want to combine your Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, you can save with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. On top of your free monthly games courtesy of Live Gold, you’ll also get access to the entire Xbox Game Pass library for one price.
While you can only grab three month memberships at the moment, buying both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass separately through a rolling subscription with Microsoft will set you back $59.94/£44.94 for those three months. The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will save you at least $15/£12, and that’s before you’ve even taken a look at the great deals below.
We’d recommend starting off with the $1/£1 introductory month available through your Xbox console, before cancelling your auto-renew and grabbing one of these amazing discounts.
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What Is The Xbox Live Gold Membership
Xbox Live Gold is a subscription-based service that can be purchased in one month, three month, and one-year periods. Xbox Live Gold subscriptions are $59.99 for 12 months, $24.99 for three months, and $9.99 for one month.
The paid Xbox Live Gold service gives you all of the free level features along with the ability to play games with friends online as well as early access to demos. Gold members also benefit from discounts and free games every month, making the price well worth it for frequent gamers.
An Xbox Live Gold subscription is no longer required to use Party Chat, Looking 4 Groups, and free-to-play multiplayer features.
Heavy Criticism Spurs Microsoft To Reverse Course On The Same Day
Microsoft Corporation took less than 15 hours on Jan. 22, 2021, between announcing a large price hike for its Xbox Live Gold subscription plan and offering an apologetic retraction in the face of fierce and widespread criticism. Microsoft had planned to double the annual cost of Xbox Live Gold in select markets, including the United States. In its original announcement, Microsoft said: “In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn’t changed for over 10 years.”
- Microsoft had planned to double the annual cost of Xbox Live Gold membership plans in select markets, including the United States.
- In the face of heavy criticism, Microsoft rescinded the price hikes on the same day that they were announced.
- Microsoft has retained incentives for Xbox Live Gold members to migrate to the costlier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan.
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How Does Games With Gold Work
Every month, Microsoft offers several free games through its Games With Gold service. While these games are availablefor the entire month or just for two weeks, depending on the gameyou can choose to redeem them via the website or on your Xbox console. You can then downloadand keepthe game for free.
If you dont redeem the game during its free time period, you dont get it for free. This means you wont get any of the previous Games With Gold for free when you subscribe. It also means that, if you dont stay on top of the free game offers, youll miss some games and wont get them for free. However, people who have been members for a long time may have libraries full of hundreds of games they got for free, if theyre diligent.
On an Xbox One, once youve redeemed a free game, you can download and play it whenever you like, foreveras long as you have an active subscription. If your subscription lapses, you wont be able to play the game anymore. If you restart your subscription, youll regain access to all the games you previously redeemed.
On an Xbox 360, once youre redeemed a free game, its yours to play forevereven if your subscription lapses.
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Xbox Players Will No Longer Require Xbox Live Gold Membership To Play Over 50 Online Multiplayer Games
Microsoft is making over 50 games free to play on Xbox without an Xbox Live Gold membership. Now all Xbox players will be able to play these online multiplayer games for free. The party chat feature for these free-to-play games will also not require Xbox Live Gold membership. Microsoft will also make the Looking for Group option open to all users this month via a system update.
The Xbox website has been updated with the list of games that are now free to play. It will also display whether the game is free to play online or requires a subscription in the Microsoft Store. There are some features that still require a subscription and these include premium or paid game modes and experiences. Demos of games that require a pre-order or purchase, early access edition, trial license versions also require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. There’s an FAQ page for Xbox players to get more details about this new update.
As for the free-to-play Xbox games, heres the full list:
3on3 FreeStyle
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Why Does Xbox Live Gold Exist
Well, obviously, the answer is money. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.
The cash flow from Xbox Live Gold has enabled Microsoft to realize some of its long-term ambitions with regards to server infrastructure and cloud. For the longest time, Xbox Live Gold was seen, and arguably still is seen, as the defacto most stable gaming network in the world, with features we now take for granted, such as party voice comms, dedicated servers, and beyond. Many of today’s younger gamers probably won’t be able to imagine a time when voice comms weren’t a ubiquitous thing, but the social aspects of Xbox Live Gold, as well as its cloud infrastructure, simply wouldn’t have been realized without the cash flow from Xbox Live Gold. It goes further than that, though.
I still see Xbox Live Gold going away, eventually.
When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 up against the PlayStation 3, the price delta was rather enormous. You need only look at the price of a decent gaming PC vs. the price of a comparably-powerful console as well, for an example of how cheap subsidized hardware can be by comparison.
This is why executive vice-president of Gaming at Microsoft and Xbox chief, Phil Spencer, has previously discussed the fact that the console business is less about selling consoles, and more about monetizing the users you do have. A console sold that doesn’t attach a subscription is worth far, far less to a company.
That being said, I still see Xbox Live Gold going away, eventually.
Best Xbox Live Gold Deals 2021
If you want to enjoy everything the Xbox Series X and Xbox One have to offer, including multiplayer online gaming, you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Microsoft charges a hefty £50 for a 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscription but we’ve found it much cheaper elsewhere.
To lighten the load on your wallet, we’ve shopped around to score you the cheapest Xbox Live Gold memberships and Game Passes. And with seasonal sales kicking off all over the world, there’s plenty of deals flying around.
So, whether you’re due to renew your Xbox Live subscription or about to sign up for the first time, don’t reach for your bank card until you’ve checked out the discounts and special offers below.
- Read our full review of the Xbox Series X
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Xbox Game Pass Vs Xbox Live Gold: What’s The Difference
Both subscriptions offer more gaming options for Xbox owners, but they’re not the same thing. We break down the differences.
Does the PS5 have an edge on the Xbox Series X/S in terms of its lineup of current and upcoming exclusive game titles? Maybe. But where Xbox has a distinct advantage is its Game Pass subscription option, which lets Xbox owners play more than 100 games for single flat fee . It’s a great deal, but the only problem is that Microsoft has some confusing messaging around the available Game Pass options: There are three versions of the subscription, along with a Xbox subscription called “Xbox Live Gold.” Gold, meanwhile, is included in some versions of Game Pass, but not others.
Need help untangling the differences? Read on.
Use Xbox Live Gold Deals For Game Pass Ultimate
As of June 2019, there’s an even better way to make the most of these Xbox Live Gold deals – turning your membership into a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate combines the online play of Live Gold and the game streaming library of Game Pass to bring you the ultimate Xbox experience. Plus, Microsoft are offering an introductory $1/£1 price tag on players’ first month with the subscription.
This is where it gets interesting, though. Microsoft is also offering to convert any remaining Xbox Live Gold months you have left when you sign up into Game Pass Ultimate months. As long as you add the Live Gold months to your account before you sign up for Ultimate, you can stack gift card codes to save an amazing amount of cash. Previously, this could net you up to 36 months of Game Pass Ultimate, however now that amount is based on a conversion ratio of how long you have left on your Live Gold subscription. It’s a great way to make the most of those Xbox Live Gold deals and explore the Game Pass library in one go.
You’re still spending money on the Live Gold deals, but this subscription is far cheaper than Xbox’s most expensive membership. Plus, Microsoft is fully supportive of the lifehack, so there’s no need to worry about being told off.
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Xbox Live Gold Review:
Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Bottom line: Xbox Live Gold remains a staple essential when using Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S online unless exclusively tied up in free-to-play titles. The value in the subscription comes entirely from its multiplayer perks, with Gold-exclusive rewards on the decline in 2021.
How Much Does Xbox Live Cost
If you need to know what Xbox Live costs, this article will provide you with the requisite details. Read to know about the available subscription options.
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If you need to know what Xbox Live costs, this article will provide you with the requisite details. Read to know about the available subscription options.
48 Million SubscribersNow Xbox Live Gold is used by more than 48 million subscribers around the world. From June, Microsoft has announced the free availability of many entertainment apps, which includes gaming options like Machinima and services like Netflix, even for users who do not have a gold membership.
Xbox Live is Microsofts online gaming platform, developed for its consoles. It has now expanded to deliver a range of entertainment experiences from apps and games, to entertainment services. For gaming aficionados who own Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, this service provides an opportunity to interact with gamers all over the world, besides providing access to the latest games.
The service also lets you run Skype and Internet explorer on your TV. Using Xbox One, you can access all your favorite apps. The gold membership also provides access to Xbox Fitness, along with all the latest action in NFL. To top it all, with a gold membership, every month you get two games, completely free of cost.
Xbox Live Gold Membership Cost
| Gold Membership |
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Launch With The Original Xbox
As Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Sega had made an attempt to capitalize on the ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the Dreamcast video game console in 1999, including online support as standard, with the SegaNet service in North America and Dreamarena in Europe. Nevertheless, due to lack of widespread broadband adoption at the time, the Dreamcast shipped with only a dial-up modem while a later-released broadband adapter was neither widely supported nor widely available. was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card. The PlayStation 2 did not initially ship with built-in networking capabilities.
The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox console featured a trademark lumiscient orange-gold bar underneath the Xbox header. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and Brute Force sported a Live “bubble” design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal orange-gold Live bar. By the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a limited form of Xbox Live “awareness”. In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users. In July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users.
Is Xbox Live Required To Play Online
According to Microsofts official page for Xbox Live Gold, paid online games such as Borderlands 3, Mortal Kombat 11, and more still requires an active subscription to Xbox Live Gold for online multiplayer. For players who are fond of paid online games, an Xbox Live Gold subscription is still a requirement.
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