There have been rumors that Xbox has wanted to end its Xbox Live Gold subscription service for years now. Instead, Microsoft went so far as to announce a significant price increase for Xbox Live Gold in a clear effort to push Xbox gamers toward Xbox Game Pass Ultimate instead. That plan was quickly reverted following a wave of negative feedback, but few doubted Xbox still planned to restructure Xbox Live Gold down the line. A new rumor is hinting at just that.
According to Brad Sams, Microsoft is evaluating plans to combine both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass. Sams explains that Microsoft's goal is to make it so $15 a month is the new baseline for a subscription to its services. The key component of this price raise will be dissolving the standalone Xbox Live Gold subscription tier, which currently costs $9.99. Combining it with Xbox Game Pass permanently appears to be Microsoft's main focus for accomplishing this goal.
To be clear, Sams' description of the situation is not entirely coherent. That's because Microsoft already offers a subscription that includes Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 a month. That's the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which also includes cloud gaming and Game Pass on both PC and Xbox. That's why it's odd for Sams to say Xbox is planning a new tier for its subscription services, rather than simply getting rid of the lower-priced standalone Xbox Live Gold service.
Perhaps what Sams was trying to say is that Microsoft will be raising the current price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and creating a new tier at $15 a month that only includes Xbox Game Pass for console and Xbox Live Gold. Either way, those who only have an Xbox Live Gold subscription but who have no interest in Game Pass should be prepared for a price increase.
If Microsoft does raise the price of its base subscription for Xbox Live Gold, which is required to access multiplayer games on Xbox consoles, to $15 a month, expect a significant wave of negative feedback. That's what happened when Microsoft tried to raise Xbox Live Gold's price to $120 a year, after all. The inclusion of Xbox Game Pass in a service that users are required to have for basic functionality isn't likely to assuage frustrations.
It's perhaps notable that PlayStation recently announced its plans for new tiers of PlayStation Plus. And while its base level, now named PlayStation Plus Essential, will provide fewer benefits overall, it remains the same price. Whatever Xbox may be considering regarding a higher price for Xbox Live Gold, it would do well to acknowledge that it would be making PlayStation out to be the more affordable option. Xbox Game Pass's value only goes so far.