by On August 5, Microsoft officially commented on recent rumors about renaming the Xbox Live service and canceling the Xbox Live Gold subscription – nothing like that in the company’s plans.
In response to a related question from The Verge, a Microsoft spokesman said the company has no plans to close down Xbox Live Gold at this time, adding that subscriptions are “an important part of the Xbox for now, and that won’t change for the foreseeable future.”
Recall that Xbox Live Gold is an analogue of Sony’s PS Plus. The service provides access to multiplayer functions in games, additional discounts and monthly free game giveaways.
At the end of last month, Microsoft stopped selling its one-year Xbox Live Gold subscription, after which rumors spread about an impending complete phase-out of the service. In particular, VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, who has previously published reliable information about the upcoming devices, said that Xbox Live Gold will become history within a month. Shortly thereafter, reporters noticed that Microsoft had renamed Xbox Live “Xbox online service” in its user agreements.
Yesterday Microsoft made this point clear as well. The company has made changes to highlight the difference between the basic Xbox Live service, which, among others, provides access to crossplay and other features, and a subscription Live Gold.
The Verge draws attention to the fact that Microsoft’s statement does not rule out that Xbox Live Gold will eventually become free – recently, this assumption has been repeated with enviable regularity by various sources.
Source: The Verge
