One of the last vestiges of the early Xbox era is disappearing. Microsoft has open It’s replacing Xbox Live Gold with the Game Pass Core level on September 14th. The $60 per year (or $10 per month) subscription is necessary to play as many (but not all) online multiplayer games on consoles as it once was, but it also marks a shift in how the company distributes bonus games.
The company will end games with gold, which has provided a steady stream of titles to its streaming subscribers. Instead, you’ll get a core selection of over 25 games with new entries two to three times a year. Most of them are first party games like eternal tormentAnd Forza Horizon 4 And Halo 5although sometimes you will find third party project like Between us And Human fall flat.
If you’re already an Xbox Live Gold member, you’ll automatically switch to Game Pass Core when it’s available. Games ends with gold on September 1st. However, you can still access any of the Xbox One games you claimed if you’re a Core or Ultimate member. You can keep your redeemed Xbox 360 games even if your subscription ends.
Microsoft has indicated its intention to change Live Gold for a while. It stopped offering one-year subscriptions in 2020, and abandoned Xbox 360 games in 2022. The company planned to raise gold prices in 2021 before quickly reversing the decision.
The change might be disappointing if you like games with more frequent Gold Catalog expansions. While it does get some traffic, it’s a not-so-subtle way to steer you toward an Ultimate subscription with a much larger selection (including some Day 1 titles), cloud games, and an EA Play membership. In that sense, PlayStation Plus Essential (which still offers additional games every month) might be more attractive if you’re open to Sony hardware.
With that said, Sony pulled the PlayStation Plus line this spring. Unless you get the picks through other promotions, you’ll have to pay to revisit some of the best games of the PS4 era. Microsoft doesn’t strictly emulate Sony’s strategy (it’s an attempt to showcase primarily first-party releases), but it’s a rough equivalent if you’re just looking for an instant library.
“Alcohol maven. Evil bacon lover. Wannabe social media geek. Travel guru. Amateur introvert. Pop culture nerd.”