Microsoft Wanted To Make Xbox Live Gold More Expensive, But Users Weren’t Impressed

Microsoft is backtracking on the planned price hike of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. Earlier on Friday, the company had revised its three-month and six-plan plans significantly, nearly a year after removing the annual Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. As expected, many Xbox users took to social media to complain about the recent development. As a part of the price revision, the monthly plan in the US was hiked from $10 (roughly Rs 700) to $11 (Rs 800). On the other, the three-month plan went from $25 (roughly Rs 1,800) to $30 (roughly Rs 2,00), while the six-month plan was revised from $40 (roughly Rs 2,900) to $60 (roughly Rs 4,400).

The company shared the development in a blog post where it notes that Xbox users were right to let Microsoft know that it “messed up.” The company further announced, “Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of gaming, and we failed to meet the expectations of players who count on it every day. As a result, we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.” Microsoft while announcing the initial price revision had stated that the company assess the value and pricing of its services to “reflect changes in regional marketplaces.” However, many fans noted that changes were introduced to push existing or new Live Gold members over to the more premium Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Microsoft said that it is going a step further to make up with Xbox users. The company said free-to-play games on Xbox would no longer require an Xbox Live Gold subscription for online play. “We are working hard to deliver this change as soon as possible in the coming months,” the company wrote. Currently, the Xbox Live Gold subscription is available to purchase for a price of Rs 489 per month. The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, on the other hand, is witnessing a massive price drop of barely Rs 50 instead of Rs 699, for the monthly subscription.

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