As we had anticipated in our previous article, users in recent weeks Microsoft products who wanted to subscribe to an annual subscription plan for the service Xbox Live Gold (which allows you to play online on the platform and receive four free titles per month) have found the door barred.
In fact, the option to purchase a twelve-month subscription to the service has been removed a few days ago. This type of subscription cannot be purchased from either Microsoft Store nor through other resellers. There Redmond's house had actually removed the possibility to subscribe to the service for twelve months, without however explaining in detail the reasons for this:
Microsoft has decided to remove the Xbox Live Gold 12-month subscription from the online store. Customers can still subscribe to Xbox Live Gold one- and three-month cuts through the digital store.
Currently it is possible to buy only the 1 month and 3 month packages for those who intend to register or extend their "status". But what is the reason behind this seemingly harmless move? The most talked about theory sees Xbox Live Gold at the end of its life cycle, with Microsoft intent on making multiplayer free for its users.
This indiscretion was recently confirmed by Jeff Grubb, well-known journalist VentureBeat, who through their Twitter account confirmed this rumor. Here are his words on the matter:
Xbox Live Gold will disappear and multiplayer gaming will be free, they won't force you to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to play online.
Xbox Live Gold is going away and playing online multiplayer will be free. They will not force you into Ultimate to play online.
- grubbsnax is back (@JeffGrubb) July 31, 2020
So what will the truth be? Is Microsoft really intent on making multuplayer free for its users? We just have to wait for official news or denials about it.
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