Xbox has announced that the Xbox Live Gold service is ending, and it will be transitioned into the new Xbox Game Pass Core starting September 2023. From September 2023, players will no longer be able to purchase Xbox Live Gold service because it will be converted into Xbox Game Pass Core which is the cheapest and the most basic Xbox Game Pass package that Microsoft will be offering in its range.
The Xbox Game Pass Core will cost players $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year and it will not only offer players access to online gaming but will also give players access to 25 of its titles to all subscribers. New titles to this list will be added 2 – 3 times a year however we can expect that titles already part of the service will leave as well. For its launch, Xbox has confirmed the following games to be part of the service:
- 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
If you are currently a subscriber of Xbox Live Gold, your membership will automatically convert into Xbox Game Pass Core with no change in pricing and you will get immediate access to a library of over 25 titles. Apart from this, you will also get access to member deals & discounts. All previously claimed Xbox Live Gold games will remain part of your subscription and you will be able to play them as long as you remain a Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate member. Xbox has also announced that all Xbox 360 titles claimed through Games with Gold in the past will be kept in players’ libraries as well.
As of now, Microsoft is offering four tiers of Game Pass and you can check out each of them in the infographic below:
This announcement comes after twenty years of the initial launch of Xbox Live Gold which allowed players to compete, cooperate and experience the world of online games. Now after three console generations, Xbox is shutting down its Live Gold service and merging the service into a brand-new and cheap Game Pass tier. Xbox is hopeful that it will further strengthen its Game Pass initiative and will now finally bring the Xbox Live Gold players into the Xbox Game Pass circle as well.
Will you be switching over to the Xbox Game Pass Core service or are you using another tier of the service? Let us know in the comments section below.
