Rumors: Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Restructuring? [2020-07] *spawn*

I think it's better if Microsoft keep services separate. If you bundle any form of paid-for multiplayer into another service that appeals to single-player-only gamers, it feels like you're paying for something with no value. Just let people pay for multiplayer, let GamePass (with and without streaming - against different costs) and so on. Give user the opportunity to pick 'n' mix their services and only pay for what they perceive to be valuable to them. If Microsoft want to offer a discount for paying for more services, that's cool.

 

I mean is it possible that instead of being completely done away with Gold is just being rebranded and re-priced on a per month basis instead so fits better with the other services?

I know gold costs $60USD if you buy a full year...but maybe they are formally repricing it to $4.99 on a per month basis? Because right now I believe it's $9.99USD for gold if you just buy a month correct? That price doesn't fit in the context of GamePass Ultimate...


So maybe it will be:

Xbox Online: $5/mth

Xbox Game Pass: $10/mth

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $15/mth

 

Is this with Free To Play multiplayer still being behind paywall?

At the minimum I suspect that free to play will be coming out of paywall.
Not sure if it needed all this rebranding and gigging around just for that though, so I wouldn't be surprised with multiplayer becoming free.

If need a cheap gold equivalent, make it a cut down gamepass with selection of 10 games each month to play. Not sure how much take-up of that there would be though.

 

I suspect F2P will be outside the paywall.

I think the rebranding and fundamental re-pricing is needed with these other new subscriptions now available. Gold as it is now wasn't developed with these other services in mind.

 

I guess they could do an MS-only version at the lowest tier, but it could cause confusion.

 

I think it will be the opposite at the lower tier. Games with Gold will be done and it will be a barebones multiplayer feature tier. Games with Gold as a concept overlaps too much with Game Pass. They'll sell you multiplayer for $5, Game Pass for $10 and both for $15...

 

Yeah, MP-only tier becomes less and less appealing these days, and MS has kept F2P games behind it too, which is itself a barrier for the more lucrative microtransactions.

With Halo going F2P, it would be crappy to then say - but you still have to pay to pay to play! *cough*
Same with other F2P titles - Destiny, Fortnite etc. 3rd party have gone out of their way to go F2P because MT are much more lucrative, and suddenly on Xbox there is a barrier to that. It's stupid.

So I'd like for MS to just do away with the requirement altogether since the landscape has changed. The big games are F2P, so once that's actually F2P on Xbox, how many titles are there left that would make a multiplayer paywall worthwhile to someone ("classic multiplayer" model), especially when the competition has no barrier to F2P online gaming. Everything is going GAAS - it'd be in their interest to reduce the barrier for people to spend lollars on games.

edit9000:

A person would have to spend about $200+ worth of content (30% = $60) a year to make up the loss of Live Gold, but then the theory is reaching more players, I suppose.

 

That wouldn't be a real problem *if* these Gold games would become permanent entries in the GP collection. MS sold a lot junk there in the last few years but occasionally some gems popped up. Some before their license expired and their sales were stopped. That's a real shame if we lost them and the distribution channel for the future.

 

The whole reason for the discussion is that MS has too many paid services. Game Pass is the new service that is getting all the attention & it's one reason why I believe Live Gold is going away. I don't think they will drop the "Live Gold" name just to charge $5/mo for a version called "Online".

As for a cheap Gold equivalent, I think that will just dilute the brand & confuse customers. Better to just give customers free trials or implement their Free Play Days or free weekends for Game Pass instead of Gold/multiplayer.

To me it looks like online multiplayer is the only thing that will go free & everything else that was part of Gold(Games with Gold, Deals with Gold & Free Play Days) gets merged with Game Pass. Ea

Tommy McClain

 

I've been doing a spreadsheet on Games with Gold since the beginning. It has game pricing, Metacritic scores, etc. We should do a post-mortem if it gets canned. Just a small nugget though: They have so far given away more than $6,800 worth of games since June 2013.

Tommy McClain

 

Have they dropped using 'Gold'/multiplayer when marketing Game Pass Ultimate?

 

Agree with your post.
But I'd like to take it one step further.
Xbox has been going on about bringing the console and pc closer, in both games and services.
Multiplayer being free on pc and not console is a legacy of the past and even though xbox console gamers winge but ultimately put up with it, its really no longer justifiable when pc gets chat, multiplayer and everything else for free.

What are xbox gamers actually paying for in this day and age.
So I could actually see them get rid off the online paywall fully now with gamepass to replace it. (Won't be surprised if doesn't happen)
How that works out financially is beyond my comprehension though.

 

Marketing on Gold & Game Pass hasn't changed so far. Game Pass Ultimate still shows Gold/multiplayer being included.

Tommy McClain

 

Well if multiplayer becomes free then it's free on regular gamepass as well....so selling point of the extra $5 for Game Pass Ultimate is then just Xcloud. And maybe that is indeed what is happening I was just wondering if there was a shift in the marketing language for ultimate.

 

The 4 free games a month, forever for X360 and as long as Gold subscribed on Xbox One games. I'm not certain on entitlement for Original Xbox games.

Though many won't see value in that. Even I think that's less value than GamePass, but then again it costs less.

 

PC gamepass also

In this context xcloud replaces gold. One leaves the service other comes in.

Just have to make xcloud worth it. And we know their pushing xcloud.

 

Ultimate carries pc as well

 

Even up to a year ago I would've made it a point to include that in anything I say. But it's been so bad i feel like it's a waste of time to even type it now.

You only get to keep x360 and possibly og xbox, but I doubt many people will see the value in that given the quality and variety offered in gamepass now.

 

It wasn’t too smart to renounce to a steady chunk of cash each month.

edit: btw don't all these changes mean a hike in price for XBOX online services?