Microsoft Removes Xbox Live Requirement For Free
According to an article by Verge, Microsoft had been testing removing the Xbox Live requirement on some consoles in Beta. Now, they have rolled out this feature for all Xbox series S/X consoles. In addition to removing the Xbox live for online requirement, Mircosoft has also unlocked the Xbox party chat and the Looking for Groups option as part of this rollout. This is a welcome move for Xbox owners, as they won’t have to pay a ridiculous mandatory fee to play a popular free game like Apex Legends or Call of Duty Warzone. As a result, the Xbox will most likely see a rise in sales as players can play a ton of free games on the Xbox platform without paying anything extra.
Back in 2021, Microsoft had tried to raise the prices of Xbox Live Gold by almost double. Their move had backfired as the company received massive backlash from the gaming community for predatory pricing practices. Since then, many gamers had been petitioning for completely removing the Xbox Live subscription for playing free-to-play Xbox games.
How Long Is The Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Offer Valid For
If youve been debating about signing up for Discord Nitro or just want to do one month to get the free period of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, then players have from to claim the offer.
Thats plenty of time to either let an existing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership expire or to simply weigh up the pros and cons of the offer. But it will give you access to some massive titles including 343 IndustriesHalo Infinite.
Hopefully, everything went to plan and youve successfully claimed two months of Xbox games pass Ultimate to sit nicely alongside your existing Discord Nitro subscription!
How Discord Nitro Members Can Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate For Free
To get two months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free, Discord Nitro subscribers need to have not already redeemed the offer, have not become a Discord Nitro member for free through the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offer, and obviously, need an Xbox.
Heres the full step-by-step process to acquiring Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free:
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Jeff Grubb Believes That Nintendo Switch Pro Will Still Arrive
Besides the disappearance of Xbox Live Gold in the future, Grubb also said that the arrival of the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro would still happen despite the recent coming of Nintendo Switch OLED.
According to NME, Jeff Grubb said that it would likely be introduced in 2022, and he added that it would have a 4K output, as well as an improved processor and DLSS.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Jeff Grubb Sees It Happening After Many Years
According to Comicbook‘s report on Friday, July 9, Grubb saw that Xbox Live Gold will be removed by Microsoft after many years.
Although we are sure that it won’t happen this year, the succeeding years would perhaps bring a surprise twist for the Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The transition could take some time since the company might be discussing it thoroughly before implementing it.
What Microsoft wanted to aim for is for the Xbox Game Pass subscribers to grow before deleting the Xbox Live Gold in the platform.
Grubb said that the Redmond giant is only waiting for the numbers to hit 40 to 50 million before pulling out the feature in Xbox. At the moment, there are approximately 20 million Game Pass subscribers.
In the latter part of 2020, Jeff Grubb has mentioned that Xbox might be cooking something big during the Game Awards 2020.
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Microsoft Is Reportedly Continuing Plans To Drop Xbox Live Gold
Apparently Microsoft are focusing on growing Game Pass first
Journalist Jeff Grubb has reiterated on his GrubbSnax show a part of Giant Bomb that Microsoft is still planning on getting rid of Xbox Live Gold in the future.
Grubb reiterated claims he made last year, after he originally stated that since Halo Infinites multiplayer component went free to play, Xbox Live Gold leaving would make sense.
He said : I just wanted to reiterate, Xbox Live Gold is still on a board somewhere saying this is going to go away at some point. He added Whether or not theyre actively talking about it right now, I dont know, but they still have it on a roadmap saying Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future.
The main reason Grubb gave for Microsoft not dropping Live Gold as of now is due to the fact it wants to keep growing Game Pass.
might take years, because the focus right now still very much is getting Game Pass into a very healthy position.
So Microsofts just kind of heads down on getting user acquisition, and that means Xbox Live will go away but we need to get to a certain threshold with Game Pass before we can make that choice and unplug that revenue source because we have enough coming from something else.
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.
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Xbox Live Gold Reportedly Won’t Go Away Until Game Pass Hits Milestone
Microsoft is reportedly planning to get rid of Xbox Live Gold after Xbox Game Pass passes a milestone in subscribers, but it could be years away.
Gaming companyXbox is still reportedly planning to drop Xbox Live Gold as a whole in the future, but it could take years as the company is trying to get Game Pass into a healthier place. Although Xbox Game Pass is performing exceedingly well for Microsoft, the company seemingly wants it to replace Xbox Live Gold at some point in the future once it hits an unknown milestone.
Rumors of Xbox Live Gold going away began last summer, but were quickly squashed by Microsoft. The service has been around for many years, only justifying its value more and more over the years by adding things like monthly free games. It’s a major staple for Microsoft and one that clearly generates lots of money for the company, but now that it has added another premium subscription through Game Pass, it may become obsolete.
Related: Microsoft Says It Has No Plans To Discontinue Xbox Live Gold
“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 theyre actively talking about it right now, I dont know, but they still have it on a roadmap saying Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future.“
What Is Microsoft Planning For Next
While no reason was given for the decision, it may be an indication that Microsoft is planning a major overhaul of its online services going into the next generation, and will likely reveal those plans closer to the launch of Xbox Series X at the end of the year.
So what could Xbox’s online services look like going forward? Given the enormous success of its Xbox Game Pass subscription, it’s entirely possible that Microsoft could roll Xbox Live Gold’s functionality into that, ending the need to subscribe to two separate services. Whether that would result in a price hike is, at this point, obviously an open question.
And then there’s Microsoft’s upcoming game streaming service, Project xCloud, which has so far seen “hundreds of thousands” of beta testers stream Xbox games from PCs to mobile devices, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer.
It’s entirely possible that Microsoft took a good, long look at Xbox Live Gold and what it offers, and has decided that it was one online service too many for Xbox’s future. Of course, for now this is all just speculation, but given there are still many unknowns around the Xbox Series X family’s launch, Microsoft looks like it’ll have a lot to announce later in the year.
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Are Plans Already In Motion
In, Microsoft then bumped up the price of Gold for a monthly superscription from £6.99 to £7.99, three months from £17.99 to £21.99, and six months from £29.99 to £42.99. However, following fan backlash those prices were almost instantly reverted.
Yet, rumours have been circulating once more that Microsoft is planning on ditching the Xbox Live Gold subscription altogether soon.
As reported by Pure Xbox , industry insider Jeff Grubb revealed on the GrubbSnax podcast that plans are still going ahead to drop Xbox Live Gold.
Grubbsnax Selects is on YouTube.
Jeff Grubb
I knew for a fact that they were going to make a change before Halo Infinite, and I thought at least it would be dropped for free-to-play games because they werent going to charge people to play Halo on Xbox when they werent charging you to play it on PC or whatever, said Grubb.
He continues: Then they decided to raise the price and it looked weird, right? Why would they do that if they were going to get rid of Xbox Live Gold?
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 theyre actively talking about it right now, I dont know, but they still have it on a roadmap saying, Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future.
Hard-core or hater. If you have Xbox, you have Xbox gamepass. That’s why Xbox live gold will go away. IMO.
Timdog
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.
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Xbox Reportedly Matching Playstation & Remove Xbox Gold For F2p Titles
A new report from VentureBeat report Jeff Grubb states that Microsoft plans to remove Xbox Live Gold requirement from playing online and making MP free on Xbox platform for free to play games.
In a tweet posted on his account, Grubb says that it is going away and playing online multiplayer will be free, which would be massive for the platform.
Xbox Live Gold is going away and playing online multiplayer will be free. They will not force you into Ultimate to play online.
Jeff Grubb
Right now, theres an entry barrier to play F2P MP games on Xbox. On Xbox, you cannot play free to play games either without Xbox Live while PlayStation lets you play F2P games without PS Plus.
But he does say in another tweet that its going away entirely.
I think it’s going away entirely.
Jeff Grubb
Some reports have noticed as well that Xbox has removed the ability to buy 12 month or 24 month subscriptions on Xbox Live Gold.
Microsoft moving away from Xbox Live requirement for MP for F2P would be massive shift to align with Sony.
We will keep you updated.
No Changes To Xbox Live Gold Pricing Free
We messed up today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of gaming and we failed to meet the expectations of players who count on it every day. As a result, we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.
Were turning this moment into an opportunity to bring Xbox Live more in line with how we see the player at the center of their experience. For free-to-play games, you will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play those games on Xbox. We are working hard to deliver this change as soon as possible in the coming months.
If you are an Xbox Live Gold member already, you stay at your current price for renewal. New and existing members can continue to enjoy Xbox Live Gold for the same prices they pay today. In the US, $9.99 for 1-month, $24.99 for 3-months, $39.99 for 6-months and $59.99 for retail 12-months.
Thank you.
Since we launched Xbox Live , weve been working to make it the most advanced multiplayer network available, for the greatest community of gamers and there are a lot of you. Millions of people come together on Xbox to play with friends and discover great games. We invest in our community by strengthening the digital safety of our players, enabling new ways to share, communicate and play with your friends, and delivering industry leading reliability across our network.
So, what does this mean for you?
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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.
Why Might Xbox Live Gold Be Removed
The industry is rapidly shifting focus, with PC by far and away the dominant force in “core” gaming. Mobile gaming didn’t wash over the industry and shift all of us over to Candy Crush-lovers as some analysts predicted in previous years, but more and more of us globally are playing on Windows PC, either instead of, or alongside Xbox consoles. The gradual decline of the “walled garden”-style closed-off networks is also opening up all sorts of cross-play scenarios, with Xbox at the forefront. Minecraft is still one of the only games, if not the only game that lets you play with friends across VR, mobile phones, all consoles, and PC simultaneously. This is a vision of gaming Microsoft wants to eventually spread across its entire portfolio, within reason.
Increasingly, the paywall for multiplayer seems old fashioned.
Increasingly, the paywall for multiplayer seems old fashioned, and maybe even antithetical to Microsoft’s vision of a big connected network that spans storefronts and form factors. Xbox Live’s “Games with Gold” program, which offers free titles as part of the multiplayer access package, has arguably decreased in quality over time as well, as Microsoft shifts its focus to its other big subscription service: Xbox Game Pass, which features some of the best games from the Xbox portfolio for a relatively low monthly fee.
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