Do I Need To Install The Games To Claim Them
No. All you need to do is claim the game and itll be there until you decide to install and play it. You can install it if you like to have all of your games readily available at a moments notice though.
This would save you time after all, as you wouldnt have to wait for the install down the road when you decide to play something new. So its at least worth considering installing games right when you claim them even if you dont plan to play those games right then and there.
Again though, if you dont install them right away you wont lose them. As long as you claim they will be in your library for good.
How To Convert Xbox Live Gold To Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Step 1
Add months to an Xbox Live Gold subscription using digital subscription codes purchased from Microsoft or another retailer . Increase the time on Xbox Live Gold, not standard Xbox Game Pass, because its the cheaper option.
Note: Microsoft discontinued selling 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions on its website during the summer of 2020, but third-party retailers still sell them for now.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the easiest places to purchase digital subscription codes for Xbox Live Gold, but a couple of other online retailers are cheaper.
Also do so in the largest increments possiblea 12-month code for Gold works out much cheaper per month than the one-month, three-month, and six-month varieties. When purchasing codes, always remember that Microsofts servers wont let you redeem a code for a duration that exceeds the 36-month cap.
Warning: If you buy three 1-year subscriptions, do not turn on recurring billing while redeeming the codes. Any extra freebie months you get for doing so will make it impossible to redeem the final code.
Also note that short multi-day trial codes for Xbox Live Gold wont work for this promotion .
Tips:
- Dont forget that this Game Pass Ultimate $1 promotion includes one month of service that stacks on top of whatever amount of Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass subscription time you convert. You wont get the full month if it puts you over the 36 month cap, though.
Microsoft
Step 2
Step 3
Microsoft
Outside of that, youre set to go. Enjoy!
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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How Xbox Live Works
Microsoft launched Xbox Live to much fanfare in 2002, and the initial hype seems justified. By 2019, the number of users reached 65 million . Although the services that make up the service change over the years, Xbox Live’s core purpose to connect gamers with one another to play games together remains the same.
Gaming industry experts agree that Xbox Live was a key factor in the success of online gaming in the 2000s. From its earliest days, Xbox Live let you read email, watch movies, listen to music and share photos from your Xbox console. By 2011, Xbox Live allowed users to stream media, sync online payment services and connect with major social networks.
When Will These Xbox Live Gold Changes Arrive
The new changes to Xbox Live Gold are now rolling out on Xbox consoles. Following the change, free-to-play multiplayer games are now playable on any account with or without an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Some titles, like Call of Duty: Warzone and Destiny 2, issued mandatory updates related to the change, which must be installed before accessing free-to-play multiplayer. The release follows what looked to be a somewhat reactionary announcement in January, with several weeks of testing through the Xbox Insider Program.
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How Does Deals With Gold Work
In addition to the free games, Microsoft offers a variety of exclusive deals on digital Xbox One and Xbox 360 games to members. You can view the current deals on the Deals With Gold website and in the Store on your Xbox. These deals change every week. And as with the free games, you wont see the latest big-name games here as soon as theyre released.
Once youve purchased a game, its yours to play all you like, even if your subscription ends.
Connecting Your Xbox 360 To The Internet
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Xbox Live Gold Subscription And Gift Cards
Buying things on Xbox One is done in good ol’ local currency, so no more trying to figure out how much 800 Microsoft Points really costs. If you see a game priced at $10, it costs $10, which is much simpler. This means that instead of buying Microsoft Points at retailers, you can now buy Microsoft Gift Cards in various amounts. You can also buy Xbox Live Gold subscription cards at retailers.
How To Get Xbox Live Gold On Pc Or Mac
This article was written by Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 9,001 times.
This wikiHow teaches you how to purchase an Xbox Live Gold code on your Windows or macOS computer. Once you purchase a code, you can apply it to Xbox Live on your Xbox or Windows 10 PC.
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What Games Are Part Of Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass will always offer more than 300 games, made up of Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox backward compatible titles.
Some might be switched in future for other games, but here is the current list of all the games that are currently available:
All the Xbox One & Series X/S games on Game Pass :
Note, Xbox Series X/S versions of games will run on Xbox One too, but will have enhancements on the next-gen consoles. Some games will also feature Xbox’s Auto HDR and/or FPS Boost technologies.
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- A Way Out **
- Aragami 2 – coming 17 September 2021
- Archvale – coming TBC
- ARK: Survival Evolved
- Art of Rally
- Assetto Corsa
- Back 4 Blood – coming 12 October 2021
- Backbone
- Breathedge – coming 9 September 2021
- Bridge Constructor Portal
- Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
- Burnout Paradise Remastered **
- Call of the Sea
- Carrion
- Chinatown Detective Agency – coming TBC
- Cities: Skylines
- Conan Exiles
- Control
- Forza Horizon 4
- Forza Horizon 5 – coming 9 November 2021
- Forza Motorsport 7 – leaving 15 September 2021
- Frostpunk: Console Edition
- Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition
- Gears of War 4
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
- Gears Tactics
- Genesis Noir
Not Every Game Will Support It
Microsoft has committed that all exclusive Xbox Game Studios titles optimized for the Xbox Series X, including Halo Infinite, will use Smart Delivery.
This means if you purchase an Xbox Game Studios title like Halo Infinite on the Xbox One, your purchase will let you play the game on the Xbox Series X console in the futureat no extra cost, and with all the optimizations the developer offers for the latest console generation.
This is reminiscent of the Xbox Ones backward compatibility for games written for the Xbox 360. In that system, certain games that have been modified may be played on the Xbox One simply by inserting the original Xbox 360 disc or buying them digitally with your Microsoft account.
This system worked by ignoring the original game disc entirely and downloading a modified version of the game in question, then loading it within a virtual version of the Xbox 360 system running on the Xbox One.
Microsoft has stated that developers will not need to build multiple versions of their games to be compatible with Smart Delivery. However, Microsoft has not yet elaborated on how this feature works behind the scenes.
Third-party games, like Cyberpunk 2077, require developers and publishers to opt in to Smart Delivery. Not every game will support it.
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What To Expect From Xbox Live On Xbox One
Xbox Live Arcade purchases will not transfer over, as the Xbox One will not be in any way natively backwards compatible, with cloud backwards compatibility expected to come in the future. However, entertainment content that you’ve purchased, such as movies, will carry over.
According to Microsoft, “Your Gold account carries over so you will have your Gold on Xbox 360 as well as Xbox One. With Smart Match, Game DVR and New Achievements, we previewed some of the major investments we’re making to make the new Xbox Live the best place to play games and enjoy entertainment with your friends online. We will have even more to share in three weeks at E3.”
“Your current Xbox Live Gamertag will stay with you on Xbox One if you choose to keep it, and your hard-earned Gamerscore and Achievements will indeed carry over from Xbox 360.” Gamertags will remain limited to the same length on Xbox Live for Xbox One
Xbox Live will have access to over 300,000 servers, which is larger than the entirety of the internet was during the late-’90s. Xbox Live is required for online play, to upload gameplay unlike the PS4, and in order to receive free games.
What’s Changing With Xbox Live Gold
Microsoft has shaken up its Xbox online services this year, with some of the most extensive changes to date for Xbox Live. It skews the value proposition of its Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles, making online multiplayer more accessible and better positioning its services against the competition. That all stems from an ongoing effort to reshape its subscription portfolio, changing up the value of Xbox Live Gold as Xbox Game Pass takes the spotlight.
The new changes for Xbox Live Gold impact its online multiplayer, the subscription’s primary draw since its inception. Microsoft has lifted the requirement for Xbox Live Gold to play free-to-play titles online, making these true no-cost experiences on the platform. That mimics a similar policy seen on PlayStation consoles, with no PlayStation Plus requirement for free-to-play games.
This massive policy shift impacts a considerable slice of Xbox owners, with free-to-play titles among the top games played today. Experiences include Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends, all drawing millions with no upfront cost. Microsoft has now rolled out these Xbox Live Gold changes, and multiplayer automatically works across these titles, subscription-free.
Microsoft has also dropped the Xbox Live branding, steadily adopting the Xbox network branding moving forward. However, the Xbox Live Gold name will remain as is a move designed to help better distinguish the underlying service from the paid subscription.
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Why Does Xbox Live Go Down
Xbox Live is Microsoft’s cohesive online platform positioned at the heart of its gaming ambitions. The service handles tens of millions of users across Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs, alongside a pool of handheld devices. And despite everyday reliability, Xbox Live falls offline on occasion.
Microsoft seldom talks technicalities when Xbox Live goes down, often providing timely solutions and moving forward. While the cause is often unclear, Xbox Live can experience technical hiccups, high traffic during busy periods, or malicious distributed denial-of-service attacks hammering Microsoft servers. Redmond has teams working around the clock to ensure Xbox Live stability, and outages are natural with time.
That doesn’t make outages less frustrating, with recorded downtime seemingly on the rise in recent months. However, outages are often addressed with fast turnarounds and pose no security threat.
How Many Games Do Subscribers Get For Free Each Month
This will vary, but it seems to be from one to three games on average. It will not always be the same amount of games every month either.
Sometimes the games given out for free are newer titles. Other times theyre indie titles that werent that much to begin with. The point being that its important to stay on top of which games are being given out every single month. And its even better to know the moment Microsoft confirms the lineup. So you can avoid buying something that you may be getting for free soon.
If youve got the Xbox app installed on your smartphone, you can usually find out what the games are from this app.
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Ea Play On Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Microsoft and EA have been close for a long time now, with EA Access once exclusive on Xbox One. While the exclusivity is no more, what’s about to happen is something nobody expected.
EA Play, a subscription service on its own that allows access to a selection of EA’s vast back catalog of games, will become part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass for PC.
So with one single subscription to Game Pass Ultimate, you’ll not only have access to the Game Pass Library on both console and PC and Cloud Gaming, but soon EA’s subscription service, too.
If you didn’t already think that Game Pass Ultimate is the best value package in gaming, this pretty much seals it.
Microsoft Says No Changes Being Made To Xbox Live Gold Amid Free Multiplayer Claims
Last year Microsoft began bundling Xbox Live Gold with Xbox Game Pass in the form of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $14.99/£10.99 per month and will also include Project xCloud when it launches in September.
Xbox Live Gold is going away and playing online multiplayer will be free, Grubb followed up. They will not force you into Ultimate to play online.
Earlier this month Microsoft stopped selling 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, fuelling speculation that the long-running service could be repackaged or phased out to coincide with the Xbox Series X launch this holiday season.
While the platform holder is no longer offering an annual Xbox Live Gold membership option, one and three-month subscriptions are still available.
At this time Xbox has decided to remove the 12 month Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online Store, a company spokesperson said. Customers can still sign up for a 1 month or 3 month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store.
As well as access to multiplayer gaming, Xbox Live Gold offers members two to four free games every month and discounts of up to 50% on Xbox One products on the Microsoft Store.
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How Much Does Xbox Live Gold Cost
Xbox Live Gold costs $9.99 per month or $24.99 for three months.
Xbox Live Gold is also included at no additional cost in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate allows subscribers to play over 100 video games on Xbox consoles, PC, and mobile devices . You can learn more about Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in our guide to Xbox Game Pass.
Finally, you can give an Xbox Live Gold subscription to someone as a gift by purchasing an Xbox Live Gold gift card .
You Shouldn’t Buy This If
- You want affordable games
- You only play free games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone
- You only use Xbox services on Windows PCs
Xbox Live Gold upgrades your Xbox gaming experience, and while revised for 2021, the service still serves the same purpose for most. It’s the only gateway to playing multiplayer games on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S, although the value will vary on each user. While frequent online gaming across various titles demands Xbox Live Gold, those who prefer single-player games, or stick to popular free experiences like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, have little reason to pay up.
Xbox regulars shouldn’t overlook Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft’s new higher-tier subscription, bundling Xbox Live Gold alongside other benefits. It costs more, at $15 per month, but unlocks hundreds of games in the price as one of the best deals in modern gaming.
New free-to-play changes also mean that many of the most popular Xbox games no longer require Xbox Live Gold, especially suited to casual users who play only a few titles and can’t justify the subscription for infrequent gaming sessions. But the moment you stray away from this curated list, investing in a 12-month Xbox Live Gold membership delivers the best value out there.
Xbox Live Gold
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