Xbox Live Gold shutting down: Meet Xbox Game Pass Core

After 20 years, Xbox Live Gold will finally stop being a membership service. The announcement of Xbox Live Gold shutting down was recently made by Microsoft, but the gamers will have a different tier.

In exchange for Xbox Live Gold, Microsoft is introducing the new Xbox Game Pass Core subscription. In addition to the standard Xbox online console multiplayer support, special offers, and discounts, this new Game Pass Core service will also have a new limited catalog of over 25 games, including Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4, and Psychonauts 2.

On September 14, all current Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be automatically switched over to Xbox Game Pass Core, which has the same monthly cost of $9.99 (or $59.99 annually) as Xbox Live Gold.

The end of Xbox Live Gold might come as soon as September 1. The warning was discovered by Twitter user Wario64 on a Korean website. To distinguish it from the Console or Ultimate editions of the program, Xbox Live Gold is anticipated to become Xbox Game Pass Core. According to reports, the new Core tier will cost $9.99, which is a little less than the current alternatives.

Related: Microsoft is bringing Xbox Game Pass to Nvidia GeForce Now

The catch is that, in order to continue playing Xbox One titles that you have downloaded through the titles with Gold program, you must continue to be a Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate subscriber. Xbox 360 titles are free from this condition, according to Microsoft, according to the text on the Game Pass Core announcement page:

Regardless of subscription status, any Xbox 360 titles redeemed via Games with Gold in the past will be kept in a player’s library.

On September 14, any Xbox Live Gold subscribers will automatically switch to Game Pass Core. In addition to the games listed below, Microsoft said that more will be added before the new service launches on September 14:

• Among Us
• Descenders
• Dishonored 2
• Doom Eternal
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears 5
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Human: Fall Flat
• Inside
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Psychonauts 2
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

Xbox Live Gold was often criticized

It's common knowledge that Xbox Live Gold hasn't exactly received the finest reviews recently. Users have expressed dissatisfaction with the "trash" new free games, claiming that the value of the games does not match their cost.

Related: Fixed: Xbox controller buttons not working

It has seemed like the end is near for a while. Microsoft only recently revealed a pricing increase for Xbox Game Pass in advance of the release of Starfield. The basic Console edition will cost £8.99 instead of £7.99 in the UK. While it will increase from €9.99 to €10.99 in Europe, it will rise from $8.99 to $10.99 in the US.

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