Xbox Live Gold on Xbox One and soon Xbox Series X may be free going forward. According to new rumors circulating around the Internet, Microsoft is planning on removing the paywall of Xbox Live Gold, which means Xbox One and Xbox Series X gamers would be able to enjoy multiplayer games without spending a penny. As you may know, right now if you want to play online and multiplayer games on Xbox One, including free-to-play games, you need fork over $60 a year for Xbox Live Gold. And this is the same on PS4 via PlayStation Plus, though the PS4 does allow anyone, free of charge, to enjoy online and multiplayer free-to-play games.
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The report comes way of Venture Beat reporter and industry insider Jeff Grubb, who claims Xbox may soon get rid of Xbox Live Gold entirely. And in its place, will make multiplayer free for everyone.
Interestingly, this claim comes on the back of rumors claiming the same thing, as well as Xbox removing the options to purchase a 12-month and 24-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold. In other words, something is clearly up with Xbox Live Gold, but for now, it remains unclear exactly what is going on.
At the time of the initial rumors, many speculated the service would be rolled into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which would mean Xbox users would have to pay $15 a month rather than $10 to access multiplayer games. However, Grubb shoots down this suggestion.
Xbox Live Gold makes Xbox millions and millions each year. It’s a big moneymaker, but more importantly, a consistent moneymaker. However, it looks like Microsoft is prepared to eat this loss in revenue in an attempt to grow Xbox as a platform, which is why it’s dumping so many resources into Xbox Game Pass, despite returns being less than desirable so far.
As always, take everything here with a grain of salt. Nothing here is official information, and even if it’s correct, it’s also subject to change. At the moment of publishing, Microsoft has not commented on this report or the speculation derived from it, and it’s unlikely it will.
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