Xbox announced this morning that their long-running online service Xbox Live Gold will be replaced with a new service called Xbox Game Pass Core this September.
The new service repositions Xbox Live as a lower tier of subscription to Xbox Game Pass on consoles, with a monthly rate of $9.99 for access to online console multiplayer and a small library of games from Xbox Game Pass.
With the replacement of Xbox Live Gold comes the replacement of Games with Gold as well, a service that offered Xbox 360 and Xbox One games for download included as part of an Xbox Live Gold subscription. In its place, Xbox has confirmed that Game Pass Core will include a small selection of games from the wider Xbox Game Pass library. The selection will launch with over 25 games and will be updated 2-3 times per year. Xbox confirmed the following titles to be included in the launch lineup:
- 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
The transition to Xbox Game Pass Core will take place on September 14, with Games with Gold ending a bit earlier on September 1. Any existing Xbox Live Gold members will automatically get Game Pass Core membership, retaining their member deals and discounts and the ability to access any games downloaded through Games with Gold, though they will have to continue their subscription in order to maintain access to Xbox One games acquired through the service.
The Xbox Live branding debuted in 2002 as one of the earliest online multiplayer services on consoles, with the Xbox Live Gold subscription model launching alongside the Xbox 360 in 2005, and has remained consistently popular ever since. However, with Games with Gold being a major selling point of the service since 2013, the move towards folding the service into the Game Pass branding tracks with the company’s general shift towards prioritizing Game Pass in its business model.