Microsoft has announced that on the 14th of September, ‘Xbox Live Gold’ and the brand ‘Xbox Live’ will be retired alongside the ‘Games with Gold’ programme. The replacement service will be dubbed ‘Xbox Game Pass Core’, being required for online multiplayer but this time offering a select list (25 plus) of ‘high-quality games’ for console players. This service will be priced at $9.99 USD, and a catalogue of the Game Pass tiers can be found in the image below along with comparisons in features.
Some of the selections of games have been confirmed:
- 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
For current Xbox Live Gold members:
- On September 14, Xbox Live Gold members will automatically become Game Pass Core members, with no change in pricing, and have immediate access to a new library of over 25 high-quality games.
- Member deals & discounts will also be part of Xbox Game Pass Core.
- Games with Gold will come to an end on September 1.
- Players can continue to access any Xbox One games they previously redeemed through Games with Gold if they remain a Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate member.
- Regardless of subscription status, any Xbox 360 titles redeemed via Games with Gold in the past will be kept in a player’s library.
It’s the end of an era for the Xbox Live brand, dating all the way back to the original XBox as the place to be for high-quality online multiplayer. The branding would later change to the ‘Xbox Network’ as a way to distinguish the paid multiplayer service from the online experience. The Games with Gold programme was also introduced in July of 2013, offering Xbox 360 titles before incorporating Xbox One titles (and everyone’s favourite platformer: Max and the Curse of Brotherhood).
