For over two decades, Microsoft has been charging Xbox owners anywhere from $4 to $10 a month for access to online multiplayer. The full suite of features was bundled as Xbox Live Gold and has since morphed into being part of Game Pass. The company is now reportedly exploring doing away with that fee for its next-gen console, bringing it more in-line with PC gaming where the perk is provided by companies for free.
According to a new report by Windows Central, the “current plan” is for the next Xbox to have no paywall for multiplayer. The outlet adds that “it remains to be seen if that plan actually plays out into reality,” but it sounds like there is at least serious consideration within Microsoft for abandoning the last remnants of its Xbox Live legacy with the arrival of the new system or systems which are currently rumored to be releasing near the end of 2027.
It would be another seismic shift for the company’s gaming division which has long collected this multiplayer tax in exchange for the ability to play annual hits like Call of Duty, Madden, and NBA2K online. While it’s become standard to allow players on console to access free-to-play games without making them pay for platform memberships, forcing players to pay for online gameplay in premium titles like Diablo 4, Mario Kart World, and Helldivers 2 has generated massive amounts of what feels like effectively passive income for the respective console makers.
It’s unclear how many of Game Pass’ millions of subscribers are currently enrolled simply to play with friends online, but that benefit alone is responsible for a huge portion of the cost of the most expensive tier of the program. While Game Pass Ultimate for console users was recently raised to $30, the service is still just $16.50 on PC where Sea of Thieves and other live-service hits can all be played online for free. Ditching the multiplayer paywall on a more Windows PC-like next-gen Xbox would also require overhauling those pricing schemes.
If the plan does go through, there will be two immediate questions: Why did Microsoft spend all of those previous years charging Xbox users for multiplayer? And how will Sony and Nintendo continue to justify charging for multiplayer on the upcoming PlayStation 6 and current Switch 2? Competition between platforms is good, and Microsoft providing valuable and meaningful alternatives in the future would be one way to help pressure both Sony and Nintendo into doing the same.
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