Xbox LIVE Gold gets big price hike, 6 months now same price as 1 year

Microsoft massively increases Xbox LIVE Pricing by 50%, 6-month costs same as 12-month, and 12-month memberships are removed.

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Xbox LIVE Gold pricing is going up by 50%, and will now cost $10 a month regardless of what option you buy.

Xbox LIVE Gold gets big price hike, 6 months now same price as 1 year 34

Today Microsoft announced a substantial price hike for Xbox LIVE Gold. 6 months of Xbox LIVE Gold now costs $59.99, the old cost of the 12-month membership. This is a 50% price jump that doesn't include Xbox's most popular Game Pass service--only multiplayer and an allotment of free monthly games are included.

Here are the new pricing tiers for Xbox LIVE Gold:

  • 1-month - $10.99 ($9.99 previously, +10% price hike
  • 3-month - $29.99 ($24.99 previously, +20% price hike)
  • 6-month - $59.99 ($39.99 previously, +50% price hike)
  • 12-month - Now removed? ($59.99 previously)

It's implied that Microsoft will start adding more games to its Games With Gold lineup to reflect the price hike. The Xbox LIVE Gold free game offering for February includes five games for the first time ever and has an assortment of heavy-hitters:

  • Gears 5: 1-28 Feb
  • Resident Evil: 1-28 Feb
  • Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition 16 Feb to 15 Mar
  • Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb: 1-15 Feb
  • Lost Planet 2: 16-28 Feb

The motivation here is clear. By offering more intrinsic value by holding more games for ransom under the XBLG subscription, Microsoft is betting players will keep their subs active to maintain access to the games library. The same is true for Game Pass Ultimate. The idea here is to lower the gap between Game Pass and Xbox LIVE Gold while adding more value--and cost--to each sub to help justify recurring spending and reducing lapsed subscriptions.

It's worth mentioning that the Microsoft Store still has the old pricing for Xbox LIVE Gold, but you can't actually buy the 6-month or 12-month options from the store.

NEWS SOURCE:news.xbox.com

Derek joined the TweakTown team in 2015 and has since reviewed and played 1000s of hours of new games. Derek is absorbed with the intersection of technology and gaming, and is always looking forward to new advancements. With over six years in games journalism under his belt, Derek aims to further engage the gaming sector while taking a peek under the tech that powers it. He hopes to one day explore the stars in No Man's Sky with the magic of VR.

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