[UPDATE] Microsoft confirmed everything in a detailed blog post published on Xbox Wire. The only difference is that the transition will take place on September 14th.
[ORIGINAL STORY] Xbox Live Gold, the basic subscription service that has always been required for Xbox gamers to use online multiplayer on their consoles, may be about to shift into 'Game Pass Core'.
Windows Central reported that before taking down the story (likely due to an early announcement). However, the details are still available here.
According to the story, Xbox Live Gold will be replaced by Game Pass Core starting on September 1st. The same pricing ($9.99 monthly) will remain, and existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers will obtain an equal amount of Game Pass Core subscription time.
They will also gain access to a library of over 25 games from the Game Pass library, such as:
- 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 and the Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
On the other hand, Games with Gold (the freebie initiative bundled with Xbox Live Gold) will also end on September 1st. Of course, any games obtained in the previous years through GwG will stay in the user's library. Last but not least, Game Pass Core subscribers will also enjoy membership deals and discounts.
In other Game Pass news, Microsoft announced that the preview of the Game Pass Ultimate Friends and Family plan is ending on August 15th. The wording of the announcement makes it unclear if and when it will ever become a proper offering.
We look to take the learnings from the past several months and investigate building an offer which we can launch worldwide in the future.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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