Xbox Live Gold Discontinued, Game Pass Core Takes Its Place
Microsoft has announced that it will be replacing its ex-base subscription service, Xbox Live Gold, with a new tier of Xbox Game Pass called Game Pass Core. The new service will offer the same benefits as Xbox Live Gold, including online multiplayer access, but it will also include a library of over 25 games that subscribers can play.
Game Pass Core will be priced at $9.99 per month, the same as Xbox Live Gold. Existing Xbox Live Gold members will be automatically transferred to Game Pass Core on September 14, 2023.
Xbox Live Gold, which first launched on November 15, 2002, has been an important part of the Xbox experience. It allowed players to access online console multiplayer, providing a platform for friends and gamers from around the world to come together and enjoy their favorite games. The service’s popularity soared, especially with the release of Halo 2, which played a significant role in popularizing the online multiplayer gaming.
Over the years, Xbox Live Gold introduced the “Games with Gold” promotion for Xbox 360 in July 2013. This added value for subscribers by offering a selection of free games each month. While this feature was once highly praised, it eventually faced criticism due to the quality of the free titles, which led to ridicule from some players.
As part of the transition to Game Pass Core, Microsoft is discontinuing Games with Gold, the perk that has allowed Xbox owners to grab free games monthly for a decade. Any Xbox 360 titles that were redeemed through Games with Gold will be permanently kept in a library, but Xbox One titles will be based off of your current Game Pass subscription. This ensures that past rewards and games are not lost and can still be enjoyed.
The issue with “free-to-play” games was that they were often not at all playable, or interesting for a wide variety of players. It’s true that, at the start, there WERE games that people waited for genuinely, but to the end of it’s cycle, it had just become one of those features that nobody cared about.
Now, with the Game Pass Core, Microsoft wants to revamp the Live Gold. Game Pass Core will not only include access to online console multiplayer, but it will also offer subscribers a fantastic collection of over 25 games (at launch) to play on Xbox Series X and S, as well as Xbox One.
Here, you will need to take into account if the Game Pass tier you choose actually has your preferred game in it, since GP Core has only a limited library of around 25 games. In that case, you will need to jump over to the more expensive Game Pass Ultimate ($16.99/month).
At launch, Microsoft has confirmed only 19 games. These are:
- 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 and the Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Microsoft has also promised to add new games to the Core library two or three times a year, ensuring that subscribers always have fresh and exciting titles to explore.
This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.
