As many Microsoft acolytes will surely attest, Xbox Live offers a ton of great features for fans of the technology company's current and last generation console, with one of the online service's more popular features being its Games with Gold program. However, some may have never signed up to utilize the paid service on account of its monthly and annual subscription fees being too high. Thankfully, Microsoft has now decided to lower the barrier of entry somewhat by offering 12 months of Xbox Live Gold for $40 right now.

Those who want to take advantage of this solid deal would do well to head on over to the Microsoft Store right here as soon as possible and purchase the 12-month offer while it still lasts on the tech firm's website. There are only 14 days left to take advantage of the limited-time discount due to the fact that the item's markdown is officially set to expire next month on August 1, 2018.

For those wondering, the 12 months of Xbox Live Gold for $40 is available to both new and current members alike, as the purchase simply adds the allotted time frame of 12 months to an account. Due to the fact that this offer is $20 cheaper than the standard cost of $60 for 12 months of Xbox Live Gold – or roughly 33% cheaper than usual, for those into percentages – there's no doubt that a slew of gamers with act fast.

Taking all of this into consideration, it will be interesting to see if this specific price cut for Xbox Live Gold will manage to significantly boost the number of both Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners' presences on the online service. After all, with Microsoft no longer offering the sales figures of its consoles and only focusing on such statistics player engagement to project the platform's value, gauging user engagement is just about the only rubric left to determine how well the Xbox One is doing in the marketplace.

Source: Microsoft Store