Xbox Live Gold Requirement For Free
Soon you won’t need to pay extra to play free-to-play multiplayer games on Xbox.
The Xbox Live Gold requirement for free-to-play games looks like it’s even closer to ending for good. Microsoft has rolled out the latest preview for Xbox Insiders, and one of the key changes is that “Omega” users no longer need Xbox Live Gold for some free-to-play games. The takeaway here is that Omega is the final “ring” in the Xbox Insider program, which suggests Microsoft may soon drop the Xbox Live Gold requirement for everyone. This follows news of that eventually happening just a few months ago.
The Omega ring is free and open to anyone–all you have to do is sign up for Xbox Insider program and opt in. Additionally, Omega users no longer need Xbox Live Gold to use Looking 4 Group or Party Chat features
Currently, Destiny 2 and do not support free multiplayer, but Microsoft said it is working with Bungie and Activision to address the situation. Microsoft said these games require an update to get rid of the Xbox Live Gold requirement, and this necessitates coordination with the developers.
Not only is the Xbox Live Gold requirement for free-to-play games going away, but Microsoft is phasing out the name Xbox Live Gold as well. In the future, the service will be known as Xbox Network, though you will still need a subscription to play non free-to-play games online.
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The answer is of course, Game Pass.
Game Pass is Microsofts $10 a month subscription service that gives players access to a host of ready to play Xbox games, including all new Microsoft releases across Xbox consoles and PC.
But past that, Microsoft eventually came up with Game Pass Ultimate, which rolled up Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold into one $15 a month subscription. Recently, they have also added its streaming service, Xcloud, on top of that, which allows you to stream games without hardware similar to Google Stadia. All of that bundled into $15.
This is why Xbox Live Gold is effectively dead. This week, Microsoft confirmed that Halo Infinite would have free-to-play multiplayer, and yet its not really free if you still have to pay for Gold.
So, heres what is extremely likely to happen:
Free games like Halo MP and Fortnite and such will be truly free to play across Xbox hardware without any sort of subscription, just an internet connection.
Xbox Live Gold will go away entirely, and yet Game Pass will become the new standard instead.
Halo Infinite
343
And I think it may work really well for them in the end.
How To Get Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate With Discord Nitro
Discord Nitro members can get their hands on a free Xbox Game Pass subscription, and our quick guide will run you through the process.
Discord is running a hot promotion for its paid members as Discord Nitro users can get 2-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free, and heres how.
Since its release, Discord has become one of the most important social media platforms in the world. Offering a mix of instant messaging, business-related discussion, and a medium for gamers to unite and discuss current gaming affairs.
Users are also able to upgrade the services and features they get with Discord by paying a membership to become a Discord Nitro subscriber. This gifts extra benefits such as better avatar control, more customization options, and better servers.
Now, as well as these cool Perks, Discord Nitro members can also get free Xbox games through 2-months free access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
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Rumor: Xbox Live Gold To Disappear When Game Pass Is In A Healthy Position
There are more than a few times that members of this house have done the same analysis. With the future looking better and better for Xbox Game Pass, the mere existence of Xbox Live Gold is a problem for the brand and the flagship subscription. Its clear that today its still a lions share of Xbox Lives bill, but its future is increasingly uncertain.
Discontinuing Xbox Live Gold would give Microsoft a huge boost in terms of its ability to attract new players. This mass would in turn be likely to purchase Xbox Game Pass. The added value that Redmond is putting on the Ultimate edition is no coincidence either, they know that what it offers could be little in the future if they were to consider a moderate price increase. But thats another matter.
With the elimination of the need for Xbox Live Gold to play free-to-play games, the speculation about the death of this subscription is back. It has been sounded loudly in the past by prominent voices such as Windows Central and Jeff Grubb, who has proven to have a very high accuracy rate and verified information from Microsoft insiders. Everything he said about Xbox E3 2021 came true to the letter.
Now, Grubb himself on his podcast has spoken on the subject again, arguing that its still on the table at Microsoft right now, but he doesnt know what stage its at.
Xbox Live Gold Reportedly Going To Be Discontinued
Xbox Live Gold is going to disappear at an undetermined time in the future, according to a new report that has recently emerged from a trustworthy video game insider. While it’s not certain when this move from Xbox might actually come to fruition, the source of this new report says that Microsoft is looking first to increase its number of Xbox Game Pass subscribers first. Once it does this, though, Xbox Live Gold seems as though it will be going away.
News of this potential development comes by way of reported Jeff Grubb, who revealed these details in a recent stream on Giant Bomb. Grubb explained that in the future, Xbox wants to make all multiplayer titles on its platform free-to-play. Specifically, Grubb means this in the sense that a Gold subscription won’t be required to experience any multiplayer games on the Xbox platform. At the moment, any multiplayer games outside of those that are free to download require a Gold subscription in order to experience.
“I just wanted to reiterate, Xbox Live Gold is still on a board somewhere saying ‘this is going to go away at some point’,” Grubb explained in the stream. “Whether or not they’re actively talking about it right now, I don’t know, but they still have it on a roadmap saying ‘Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future’.”
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What You Need To Know
- Many have been speculating that Xbox Live Gold would soon be removed.
- This would allow players on Xbox One to use multiplayer without paying a subscription fee.
- Microsoft has told us nothing is changing for now.
Over the past few weeks, speculation has intensified that Xbox Live Gold, the paid subscription required for playing games online on Xbox One, would be going away in some capacity. This speculation further ramped up when people noticed some changes to the legal terminology in Microsoft’s Services Agreement. Mentions of “Xbox Live” were changed to “Xbox Online Service.”
Further excarberating matters, the multiplayer in Halo Infinite has been revealed as completely free-to-play, as we previously reported. Unfortunately, it appears that nothing is going to be changing on that front, at least in the immediate future. We reached out to Microsoft for comment on some of the rumors and speculation around Xbox Live Gold, and a Microsoft spokesperson offered us this statement.
The update to ‘Xbox online service’ in the Microsoft Services Agreement refers to the underlying Xbox service that includes features like cross-saves and friend requests. This language update is intended to distinguish that underlying service, and the paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. There are no changes being made to the experience of the service or Xbox Live Gold.
Free Play Days Events
Access full games across a variety of genres for free every month on select weekends. Availability period for each game may vary.
No active Free Play Day events at this time. Check back soon.
Promotional Offer Terms: *Sign in for your available offers. Promotional offers may be for new members only and/or not be valid for all members and are only available for a limited time. Offers not valid in Russia and Turkey other geographic restrictions may apply. Credit card required. After promotional period, subscription automatically continues at the then-current regular price , unless cancelled. Plus applicable taxes.
1. Active Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership required to play free games youve redeemed. Restrictions Apply.
2. Savings based on retail value of game.
3. For active Gold or Ultimate members only. Restrictions Apply. Games sold separately. Requirements and available features vary across consoles download required.
Xbox Live Gold Subscription Terms:
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Microsoft Has Quietly Discontinued 12
Can we expect a total overhaul of Xbox’s services?
Following the news that Microsoft’s Xbox One X and One S All-Digital consoles have been discontinued ahead of the upcoming Xbox Series X’s release, it now appears that the console maker is quietly phasing out its current implementation of Xbox Live Gold too.
The company confirmed to True Achievements that it is no longer selling 12-month subscriptions to the service on its online store, instead offering only 1-month and 3-month subscriptions only.
“At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online Store,” said a Microsoft spokesperson to the site, further explaining that “Customers can still sign up for a one month or three month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store.”
Jeff Grub Has Some Announcement In His Stream
Xbox Live Gold members have been around for years and have tested several games in the platform, which Microsoft opens randomly.
Jeff Grubb, an RPG designer, stated that the disappearance of the feature will likely happen since many multiplayer games would become free-to-play soon on Xbox.
What Grubb wanted to point out is that there is no need anymore to buy the subscription for the Xbox Live Gold, wherein players can immerse themselves in playing multiplayer titles.
Currently, free games such as “Apex Legends” and “Fortnite” can be played without subscribing to them, but the rest of the multiplayer games will require the users to avail the package.
“I just wanted to reiterate, Xbox Live Gold is still on a board somewhere saying ‘this is going to go away at some point. Whether or not they’re actively talking about it right now, I don’t know, but they still have it on a roadmap saying ‘Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future,” Grubb announced on his stream.
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Yearly Sub Removal From Xbox Store Not An Error
Microsoft has removed the option to purchase a 12-month subscription to its Xbox Live Gold service. While both one-month and three-month subscriptions remain purchasable, the full year sub has been scrubbed from Xbox stores across all territories.
When the removal was first discovered, some reports hypothesised that it was just an error on the Xbox stores part, but Microsoft has since sent a statement to True Achievements, confirming that the change is indeed intentional.
At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online store, reads the statement. Customers can still sign up for a one month or three month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store.
No reason has been offered for the yearly sub removal. With Microsofts Xbox Series X conference happening later this week, it will be interesting to see if this mysterious decision foreshadows an overhaul of sorts for the Xbox Live Gold service. Of course, the timing could be merely coincidental.
The Xbox Series X Games Showcase will take place July 23 at 09:00 PT / 12:00 ET / 17:00 BST.
Microsoft Quietly Discontinues Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Microsoft will be launching its next generation gaming console, the Xbox Series X, sometime late in 2020. Ahead of the launch, the company has discontinued its Xbox One S and Xbox One S digital consoles. Now, the word is that the company has also discontinued its Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Microsoft, in a statement to True Achievements, confirmed that it was no longer selling the 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription plan. That said, customers can still subscribe for the 1-month Xbox Live Gold and 3-month Xbox Live Gold subscription plans. These subscription plans will be available for purchase only via the companys online store, that is, the Microsoft Store.
Prior to the change, the one-month subscription plan was available for $10 , while the three-month subscription plan costed $25 and the 12-month subscription plan was available for $60 .
“At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online Store. Customers can still sign up for a one month or three month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store, a company spokesperson told the publication.
For now, it is difficult to say anything with certainty. Perhaps the company would share more details closer to the launch of the Xbox Series X.
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Will I Get Refund If I Cancel Microsoft Subscription
You might receive a refund, says Microsoft, if you bought an annual subscription within the last 30 days or you bought a monthly subscription and youre cancelling within 30 days of your last renewal date. If you want to try to cancel, go back to the Services & subscriptions page and click on the « Cancel » link.
Microsoft Is Doing Away With Xbox Live 12
In a very interesting move by Microsoft, the 12-month Xbox Live Gold memberships are coming to an end. This means you will no longer be able to pay for a 12-month membership via Microsofts own store, leaving you with just 1-month or 3-month memberships to choose from .
Microsoft has not yet released why this move has occurred, but it is likely due to their push toward cloud gaming surrounding Project Cloud and the Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
This means they are likely pushing to convert the 12-month subscribers toward Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions to increase both revenue and function of these accounts when it comes to the upcoming Xbox Series X console. Either that or a complete overhaul on how all of these subscriptions interact with the new console and consoles to come.
They have no commented on what will happen to the currently subscribed 12-month memberships and if they will continue out their life or be converted to modern or new subscription plans. There are still plenty of 12-month membership codes circulating the market both digitally and via gift card-like formats. So if you want to take the gamble of getting your account automatically converted at the current rate, you might want to snag one these codes available via other markets while you still can, so that you can guarantee an active subscription before these other sources dry up.
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Warzone Pacific Dev Responds To Low Fps Issues On Xbox Series X
Xbox players have been suffering from low FPS on Warzone Pacific Caldera, but a senior Raven Software dev has now responded to the issue.
Warzones Pacific update appears to have reverted the Xbox Series X|S consoles 120 FPS mode, forcing players to play Caldera at 60Hz. Now, a senior Raven Software developer has responded to the issue.
FPS is an ever-important statistic in shooters, where high frames-per-second will improve your reaction time and make the game feel smoother and more pleasant to play.
Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 consoles can run Warzone at 120 FPS double the 60 FPS that PS4s and Xbox Ones can handle. However, it appears that the Warzone Pacific Season 1 update removed the 120FPS feature from Xbox Series consoles, and now a senior developer has responded to the issue.
Xbox players have become extremely frustrated with the issue, and one player brought up the issue to Raven Softwares Creative Director Ted Timmins.
Daniel Hart said that they can no longer get 120 FPS while playing on the Xbox Series X and asked Timmins if the team are aware of it and if there will be a fix.
I play on Xbox Series X too so Im in the same boat, responded Timmins. Team is aware but Ill find out why its not on the Trello board.
For more Warzone Pacific, you can check out the best MG42 loadout to use in Caldera.
Rumours Suggest Microsoft Is Planning To Ditch Xbox Live Gold
Recent rumours suggest that Microsoft is planning to ditch the Xbox Live Gold subscription in the near future.
Rumours of Microsoft ditching the Xbox Live Gold subscription have been circulating the internet for quite some time. For starters, back in July 2020, Microsoft removed the option to purchase a 12-month Live subscription through its store.
Xbox live gold removal & game release dates updates from Jeff’s Grubbsnax show on Giant Bomb.Microsoft are still planning to phased out Xbox Live Gold memberships, they are waiting for higher Game Pass subscriber numbers before removing the subscription service.
Idle Sloth
Currently, you can only buy one, three, and six-month subscriptions for Xbox Live Gold at the time of writing. Though if you shop about, you can still buy twelve-month plans through third-party retailers.
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