Turned on Friday, Microsoft announced it would raise Xbox Live Gold prices during a pandemic, a statement that rightly ignited anger among Xbox fans. A few hours later, Microsoft stepped back and said it had been “wrapped up.” At this time there would be no price hikes, the company said. In addition, it also released free multiplayer for free games.
In a update in its original blog posted just before midnight on Friday, Microsoft acknowledged that multiplayer is a key part of the games and said it “did not meet the expectations” of gamers who use multiplayer every day. It’s not easy to jump into Xbox Live Gold, which is needed to play online games on Xbox consoles. The decision would have raised the cheapest option for a one-year subscription from $ 60 (which can currently still be purchased at stores like GameStop and Amazon) to $ 120. Uch.
In an apparent effort to appease angry and disappointed gamers, Microsoft said it would no longer require gamers to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play multiplayer for free games, such as Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone. For comparison, before this announcement, Microsoft was the only major platform that did not allow players to use multiplayer for free in free games, the Virgin reported.
“Today we have messed up and you are right to let us know. Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of games and we have not been able to meet the expectations of the players who trust us every day. As a result, we have decided not to change the prices of Xbox Live Gold. ” Microsoft said in its update. “We are turning this moment into an opportunity to adapt Xbox Live to our way of seeing the player at the center of their experience. For free games, you no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play on Xbox. “
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Microsoft did not specify when the free multiplayer game would come for free games, only that it was working to do so “as soon as possible” over the next few months.
As for Xbox Live Gold pricing, existing members will remain at their current price to renew. New and existing members can pay $ 9.99 for one month, $ 24.99 for three months, $ 39.99 for six months, and $ 59.99 for retail for 12 months, per company.
It was not difficult to deduce that the price increase proposed by the company would not be taken very well. First, he proposes it during a pandemic, which he does benefited her game division. Second, he didn’t even bother to explain why the price was rising. The only reason he gave was that he would “continue to invest” in the Xbox community and that in many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold had not changed in more than ten years.
“Periodically, we evaluate the value and price of our services to reflect changes in regional markets and continue to invest in the Xbox community; we will make price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in certain markets,” the company said in its release. original on the blog.
Microsoft’s price hike now was high seen per lots of as a company effort to push players to switch to its Game Pass Ultimate service, which gives members Game Pass access, a service with a game library similar to Netflix and Xbox Live Gold, among other perks, for 14.99 dollars a month. The deal with Game Pass Ultimate is better than paying for Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass alone and you would end up making money at Microsoft in the long run.
As he points out PolygonHowever, not everyone can afford to buy Game Pass Ultimate and should not be forced to just put more money in Microsoft’s pockets. Fortunately, they will not have to do it now and can celebrate this fact by playing multiplayer in free games in the near future.