Microsoft has said that it has “no plans” to bring an end to its Xbox Live Gold service, despite having discontinued 12 month subscription options.
In a statement sent to The Verge, Microsoft said: “We have no plans to discontinue Xbox Live Gold at this time. It is an important part of gaming on Xbox today, and will continue to be in the future.”
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Xbox Live Gold refers specifically to the paid subscription service that provides access to online multiplayer, as well as monthly free games, on Xbox consoles. The recent discontinuation of 12 month Gold subscriptions, as well as the announcement that Halo Infinite will feature a free-to-play multiplayer suite, fueled speculation that paid-for Xbox multiplayer was soon to be discontinued. However, Microsoft’s statement suggests the Xbox Live Gold service will continue.
The same statement also states that “There are no changes being made to the experience of the service or Xbox Live Gold,” which means we shouldn’t expect Microsoft to pivot Gold into a slightly different service. It would be easy to speculate that perhaps free-to-play multiplayer may not require a Gold subscription, but that seems to not be the current case. All that we can say at the moment is that Xbox Live Gold will continue, but paid for via monthly or 3-month payment plans.
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With that in mind, it looks like PC players will be able to take advantage of free Halo Infinite multiplayer, as a Gold subscription is not required for Microsoft’s PC games. Xbox players, meanwhile, will likely need a Gold subscription to play a few rounds of Slayer.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Source: IGN.com Microsoft Has ‘No Plans’ to End Xbox Live Gold Service