This past Friday Microsoft had announced a price increase to its Xbox Live Gold service. With this change, pricing would have increased between $1 for a single month or a whooping $60 for a single year depending on your plan. Well, what happened next was not a surprise to anyone. Company got huge amounts of backlash online and decided to reverse their decision after just a single day. You can check the full blog post from Microsoft here.
Microsoft also announced that they will be removing Xbox Live Gold requirement for free-to-play games on Xbox consoles. This change is expected to take effect in the coming months. With this change Microsoft’s policy regarding this subject will be on par with Nintendo and Sony.
Here is the full statement from Microsoft:
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.
We’re 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.
Future of Xbox Live Gold
Microsoft has been trying a lot to gain its foothold back since the company lost the last generation of “console war” with their lackluster Xbox One launch. Game Pass has been a game changer in this regard not just for Microsoft but gaming in general. They might have thought that this price hike wouldn’t be received in such a bad manner but this being internet they were proven wrong.
It is still a nice change of pace seeing a company backpaddle after seeing their own mistake. This once again shows that Microsoft is really trying hard to not offend their player base. If you ask me, they should just make Xbox Live Gold obsolete by fully combining it with the Game Pass. I highly suspect that this will happen sometime in the next couple of years, but until then let’s hope that Microsoft keeps up the good work.
