Microsoft is raising the price of Xbox Live Gold for the first time in more than a decade.
Xbox Live Gold memberships will now cost $ 10.99 for one month, $ 29.99 for three months, and $ 59.99 for six months. There is no longer a 12-month membership.
Microsoft allows subscribers to convert the remaining time of their Xbox Live Gold memberships to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost.
On Friday morning, Microsoft published a blog post announcing that it would increase the price of the Xbox Live Gold subscription service for the first time in more than a decade. In the future, one-month Xbox Live subscriptions will cost $ 10.99 (instead of $ 9.99), three-month subscriptions cost $ 29.99 (compared to $ 24.99), and six months of Gold will cost $ 59.99 (instead of $ 39.99). Microsoft stopped offering 12-month subscriptions in 2020.
“Periodically, we evaluate the value and price of our services to reflect changes in regional markets and to continue to invest in the Xbox community; we will make price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in select markets, ”the Xbox Live Gold team explained on Xbox Wire Friday morning. “In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years, and in some markets it has not changed for more than 10 years.”
If you are currently a 6-month or 12-month Xbox Live Gold member, your membership will not be affected, but Microsoft says you will have the option to renew at the current price when your membership expires.
Microsoft also offers Xbox Live Gold subscribers the option to dedicate the remaining time of their membership (up to 36 months) to an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. If you have five months of your Xbox Live Gold subscription left, you can convert that time into five months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost. Once you’ve used up all your converted time, you can start paying $ 14.99 a month for an Ultimate membership.
The purpose of the price increase couldn’t be clearer: Microsoft wants you to upgrade to Ultimate. For a decade, Xbox owners could pay $ 60 a year for access to unlimited online games, free games through Microsoft’s Games with Gold program, and exclusive discounts on games at the Microsoft Store. Now it’s $ 120 a year for the same perks, but for just $ 60 more you can get Ultimate, which includes access to over 100 own and third-party games, an EA Play membership, and cloud games on mobile devices, at In addition to everything that Gold offers.
Aside from asking people to pay more than they are already in the middle of a pandemic, the other reason this move is upsetting so many Xbox owners is that Xbox is the only gaming platform that won’t let you play games. free. online without a paid subscription. If you want to play Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Call of Duty: Warzone online on Xbox Series X or Xbox One, you must pay for Xbox Live. That’s not true for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, or PC versions of those games. This is sure to spark controversy even among Xbox loyalists.
If you are in a region where the price of Xbox Live Gold is increasing, “you will receive an email and a notification from the message center during the next month to let you know what the new price is for your membership.” Once you receive the messages, you will have 45 days to decide what you want to do before the new prices take effect.
Email: colin@satprwire.com Phone: +44 20 4732 1984
Colin has been working in the business industry for quite a sometime and he recently made the decision to become a full-time business journalist. At Daily Research News, he also helps us take care of the business writing.
