Microsoft is Reportedly Still Planning to Discontinue Xbox Live Gold.

According to reports, Xbox Live Gold will go away and be discontinued. Microsoft's plans to discontinue Xbox Live Gold seem to be on track.

Image Credit To Xbox

Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold, a subscription service that inspired Sony's PlayStation Plus program and Nintendo's Nintendo Switch Online, helped to pioneer online multiplayer gaming for consoles. Xbox Live Gold customers can play games online, communicate with friends in party chat, get discounts, get a new batch of free titles every month, and enjoy a number of additional benefits in exchange for a charge. For years, Xbox Live Gold has been a hallmark of the Xbox brand, but it appears that its days are numbered. Microsoft is Still Planning to Discontinue Xbox Live Gold.

According to reliable insider Jeff Grubb, Microsoft still intends to phase down its Xbox Live Gold subscription at some point. Grubb reiterated a remark he made last year on the GrubbSnax program (as reported by VGC) that Xbox Live Gold will be cancelled. "I've stated that Xbox Live Gold will be discontinued," Grubb remarked. "I just wanted to highlight that Xbox Live Gold is still on a list of things that will be phased out at some point." Whether or not they're actively talking about it right now, I don't know, but they still have it on a roadmap that says ‘Xbox Live Gold will be dropped at some point in the future, "he added."

Microsoft seems to be looking for a particular number of Xbox Game Pass members before discontinuing Xbox Live Gold. Grubb believes that Xbox Live Gold will be phased out until Game Pass hits 40-50 million customers, which may take years. Given this, it may be some time before Microsoft decides to discontinue its Xbox Live Gold service.

But fans should take this information with a grain of salt because Microsoft has not explicitly stated that it is discontinuing Xbox Live Gold.  Certain Xbox Live Gold features have already been phased out, such as when the firm opted to make free-to-play Xbox games entirely free-to-play without the need to sign up for the program. This means that the next Halo Infinite multiplayer will not require an Xbox Live Gold subscription because it will be free-to-play, despite the fact that it was once a major reason to sign up.

Microsoft has also redesigned Xbox Live to differentiate it from the Xbox Live Gold subscription, referring to its online services as the Xbox network rather than Xbox Live. This, combined with the increasingly unsatisfactory Xbox free Games with Gold offers, suggests that Microsoft is significantly more interested in boosting Xbox Game Pass subscribers than in increasing Xbox Live Gold signups.

Those who are ready to say goodbye to Xbox Live Gold can do it now by signing up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. While somewhat more expensive than a basic Xbox Game Pass subscription, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives gamers access to all Game Pass games across consoles, the Cloud, and PC, as well as all of the perks of an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

H/S: VGC