Last January Xbox reversed an announced price increase of their Xbox Live Gold service after many players spoke out against it. The reversal at the time also came with the announcement that Xbox players would eventually no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play free-to-play games.
Xbox Live Gold is a subscription service available to gamers on the platform that allows them to play games online and get free Xbox games every month through the Games with Gold program. Xbox has charged for online multiplayer since the Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and can be bundled with Xbox Game Pass through an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
While no date of the change was included with its announcement, Xbox has announced that the change will go into effect today. In a blog post to the Xbox website, Xbox confirms that players will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play over 50 free-to-play games, which will include the multiplayer of Halo Infinite, the newest entry in Xbox's biggest series. In the FAQ of the post, Xbox also clarifies that Looking for Group services and party chat are being unlocked for free-to-play games as well. The FAQ also states that players without an Xbox Live Gold subscription will not be able to participate in the Free Play Days program that gives players access to certain games for a limited window of time for free.
The change allows Xbox players to play some of the biggest multiplayer games without paying an Xbox Live Gold subscription at all. Massively popular games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Destiny 2 can now be played completely free by players on Xbox consoles. For any players who primarily play free-to-play titles, Xbox is offering a one-time option for subscribers to ask for a refund on their membership and get a credit on their account for any subscription time remaining.
The change to Xbox Live is a rather large one but seems like a good move for players who are mostly interested in free-to-play titles. The announcement comes amidst the growing popularity of Xbox Game Pass that gives players access to over 150 games for a monthly subscription. While some have speculated that Xbox may be intending to eradicate Xbox Live entirely in favor of encouraging players to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, only time will tell whether or not that will be the case. Until then, today's change will surely be welcome news to many Xbox players who will no longer need to pay for a subscription to play some of their favorite titles.
Source: Xbox