Xbox LIVE Gold Membership No Longer Required To Access Online Multiplayer For Free-To-Play Games
Xbox has officially announced via Xbox Wire on April 21st, 2021 that players will no longer require an Xbox LIVE Gold membership in order to play their favourite free-to-play games with their Xbox friends online in the future. This comes after Xbox had outlined plans to change the pricing models for their online subscription service back on January 22nd, 2021 to massive backlash from the gaming community; Xbox redacted those plans later that evening and reaffirmed players that there would be no changes coming to Xbox LIVE Gold prices – citing it as a learning opportunity whilst admitting their mistake.
After listening to community feedback, players will have access to over 50 free-to-play titles that support online multiplayer including: Fortnite, Rocket League, and Apex Legends with more titles likely to be added as NEW free-to-play games launch on the Xbox platform and service. A complete list of qualifying titles can be found on the official Xbox website and players will also be able to communicate with their squads via Party Chat and Looking for Group at no additional cost on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. Games that offer free-to-play modes as well as premium/paid game modes or experiences are not included and still require players to have an active Xbox LIVE Gold membership in order to play online.
Xbox did make some changes to their Xbox LIVE Gold membership service by removing options to purchase 6 month and 12 month subscriptions; existing members are now grandfathered in and will continue paying for those particular price points until they cancel or change their memberships. New Xbox LIVE Gold members may only purchase 1 month and 3 month subscriptions at $9.99USD and $24.99USD respectively as Xbox is shifting a lot of their services and value into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundle which is priced at $14.99USD per month. This includes an Xbox LIVE Gold membership, access to EA Play, and Xbox Cloud Gaming which is currently in an Invite-Only Limited Beta for current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
