Microsoft is today scrapping the requirement for an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play free multiplayer games. The software maker has been testing this removal for the past few weeks, and now every Xbox One and Xbox Series S / X owner can play multiplayer games for free without Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft is also unlocking Xbox Party Chat and the Looking For Groups (LFG) feature as part of this rollout.
The Xbox Live Gold changes mean popular games such as Destiny 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and many others no longer require a subscription. More than 50 games can now be played for free. The changes certainly make the $ 299 Xbox Series S console a lot more attractive as a device for free-to-play multiplayer games.
Microsoft’s abolition of the Xbox Live Gold requirement came after the company was forced to reverse a price hike on its Xbox Live Gold subscriptions earlier this year. Microsoft had tried to double the cost of an annual Xbox Live Gold subscription, a move that didn’t go down well with Xbox fans. Microsoft quickly returned and offered to remove the paywall for free-to-play multiplayer games.
Now that Microsoft has also made Xbox party chat and LFG free to use, it leaves Xbox Live Gold in a weird place. Xbox Live Gold also offers monthly free games to subscribers and discounts to the Microsoft Store, but most of the core features are now free for all modern Xbox owners. However, you still need an Xbox Live Gold subscription for an Xbox 360.
Microsoft is dropping the Xbox Live branding and is now referring to the set of software and services as simply the Xbox Network. The company has also convinced its loyal base of Xbox Live Gold subscribers to switch to Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service with more than 100 games that is Microsoft’s main focus for its gaming plans.