Microsoft has announced the upcoming end of Xbox Live Gold, over 20 years after it first launched.
Xbox Live Gold ends September 14 and will be replaced by Game Pass Core, which Microsoft described as “an evolution” of Xbox Live Gold. Core includes access to online console multiplayer and gives subscribers a collection of over 25 games to play on Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One for $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
Xbox Live launched first on the original Xbox on November 15, 2002, and was popularised by the online multiplayer portion Halo 2. The Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S all used the platform.
The Games with Gold promotion launched for Xbox 360 in July 2013. This gave Xbox Live Gold subscribers a handful of games each month - a once hugely popular bonus that has become the subject of ridicule due to the low profile of the free titles.
Here’s how it all works: at launch on September 14, Xbox Live Gold members automatically become Game Pass Core members. With the introduction of Game Pass Core, Games with Gold comes to an end on September 1. Here’s the list of Core games at launch:
- Among Us
- Descenders
- Dishonored 2
- Doom Eternal
- Fable Anniversary
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
- Forza Horizon 4
- Gears 5
- Grounded
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo Wars 2
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Human Fall Flat
- Inside
- Ori & The Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Microsoft said it will announce more Core games ahead of September 14, and new games will be added two or three times a year.
Players can continue to access any Xbox One games they previously redeemed through Games with Gold if they remain a Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass Core member, Microsoft clarified. Regardless of subscription status, any Xbox 360 titles redeemed via Games with Gold in the past will be kept in a player’s library.
“With this evolution, we're saying farewell to Games with Gold,” Jerret West, CVP, Gaming Marketing, said in a post on Xbox Wire. “We wanted to use this opportunity to re-imagine how to include content with this subscription. We found that the answer to the most compelling catalog was to leverage select titles from our Xbox Game Pass catalog.
“Thank you to everyone who has been with us since the early days, joined along the way with friends, and now with us in Xbox Game Pass. I’m proud and humbled by the stories we hear about online teammates becoming real-life friends after years playing, or even marriages whose initial spark was ignited in a pre-match lobby. We can’t wait to hear more from the community when it launches on September 14th, and we’ll see you online!”
With the launch of Game Pass Core, Game Pass has four distinct offerings: Core ($9.99 a month); Console ($10.99 a month); PC ($9.99 a month); and Ultimate ($16.99 a month). Here's a handy graphic summing up what's available:
As before, Console Game Pass does not include access to online console multiplayer. Free-to-play online multiplayer games did not require an Xbox Live Gold subscription before, and do not require a Core subscription now.
Earlier this month, Game Pass got its first price rise since its original launch six years ago. Xbox Game Pass rose by a dollar, from $9.99 to $10.99 monthly (Core now takes the $9.99 price tag). Ultimate rose two dollars to $16.99 a month. PC Game Pass remained $9.99 a month.
The price rise and now this launch of Game Pass Core come after Xbox boss Phil Spencer's admission Game Pass growth is slowing and has the potential to cannibalize sales. Game Pass has been under the microscope since its inception, with Xbox trumpeting it as a new distribution paradigm and PlayStation boss Jim Ryan claiming publishers don't like it. Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick isn’t a fan, either, which sets up an interesting debate now Microsoft is set to seal its $69 billion buyout of the Call of Duty maker.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
