Xbox Live Gold Is Being Replaced With Xbox Game Pass Core

After twenty years, Xbox’s online services are being changed, as Xbox Live Gold will be replaced with Xbox Game Pass Core in September. Those who are already members won’t need to alter their current subscriptions, but there will be changes to the games that are added to the service in the future.

Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus have been at war with the extra monthly games they give subscribers. PlayStation has overwhelmingly won this battle for years, as Xbox Live Gold’s titles are usually titles no one has ever heard of. This is because Microsoft puts all of its attention into Xbox Game Pass, which offers lots of amazing games to subscribers, some of them on launch day.

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Xbox Live Gold Is Being Rolled Into Game Pass And Renamed Xbox Game Pass Core

The Xbox online service is being rebranded and updated once again. A new update on the official Xbox website has announced that Xbox Live Gold is being turned into Xbox Game Pass Core starting September 14. The service cost will remain $9.99 USD a month or $59.99 USD a year, with no planned price increase. The official Xbox YouTube channel has a new video that outlines the changes.

The biggest change is that players won’t receive any extra games per month, though they’ll retain access to any games they received through the service in the past, so long as they remain subscribers. The exception is Xbox 360 games, which you’ll keep access to even if you stop subscribing. Instead, subscribers will now receive access to a limited selection of Xbox Game Pass titles, with more titles planned for the future. The launch line-up on Xbox Game Pass Core is as follows:

• 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 & The Will of the Wisps
• Psychonauts 2
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

Basically, Xbox Game Pass Core is needed for the online multiplayer component of Xbox games, while the base version of Game Pass on either console or PC is only used for the game library. You need to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to receive the benefits of all of them, as well as being able to access cloud streaming.

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The death of Xbox Live Gold has been a long time coming, with the line-up of free games only becoming more embarrassing over time, especially compared to what PlayStation Plus and even Nintendo Switch Online have been offering. Microsoft is going all in on Xbox Game Pass, and it makes sense to turn it into one combined service that offers a great selection of titles on the cheapest tier rather than a handful of random indie and shovelware games every month.