Microsoft turned some heads recently when it confirmed that it would no longer be selling 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. This led to some speculation that Microsoft may be combining its Xbox Live Gold subscriptions with Game Pass, with the online multiplayer access presumably transferring to Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions. However, a notable Xbox insider has suggested that Microsoft may be doing away with its online multiplayer paywall entirely.
Resetera user and known Xbox insider Klobrille has teased as much in a recent post. "The question is not if the online multiplayer paywall falls. The question is when," they stated. Needless to say, this would be a significant change of pace from Microsoft, as the company has required Xbox users to pay for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions to play online multiplayer since the service was first introduced with the original Xbox console.
This would be a huge strategic move on Microsoft's part, and could very well convince some gamers to pick the Xbox Series X over the PlayStation 5. While some may think that the strategy doesn't make sense, as it would see Microsoft lose on significant revenue from Gold subscriptions, perhaps the company is confident that it can more than make up for that lost revenue by getting more users to sign up for Game Pass instead.
If there is any truth to Microsoft removing the online multiplayer paywall for Xbox consoles, it will be interesting to see if it's announced at the upcoming Xbox Series X showcase set to take place on July 23. Microsoft has previously said that it will be focusing on games during the event, and not other kinds of announcements, but something like this seems like a big enough deal that it would warrant a special announcement at the show.
Even if Microsoft doesn't make any kind of announcement like this about the future of Xbox Live Gold, the July 23 event should still be plenty exciting for Xbox gamers. So far, Microsoft has managed to keep most of the announcements under wraps, though we do know that the event will feature the first Halo Infinite campaign gameplay footage. Everything else will just have to be a surprise.