[ad_1]
Sure Friday, Microsoft has announced that it will raise prices for Xbox Live Gold during a pandemic, a statement that has rightly sparked the ire of Xbox fans. Hours later, Microsoft furiously backed down and said it had “screwed up.” No price hike would come at this time, the company said. Moreover, it also offered a free multiplayer mode for free games.
In one update Microsoft acknowledged on its original blog posted just before midnight Friday that multiplayer is an essential part of the game and said it had “failed to meet the expectations” of gamers who use multiplayer every day. It’s not like it’s easy to jump on Xbox Live Gold, which is required for playing online games on Xbox consoles. The move would have raised the cheapest option for a $ 60 one-year subscription – which can still be purchased at stores like GameStop and Amazon – to $ 120. Ouch.
In an apparent effort to appease angry and disappointed gamers, Microsoft has said it will no longer require gamers to have an Xbox Live Gold membership to play free multiplayer games, such as Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone. For comparison, prior to this announcement, Microsoft was the only major platform that didn’t allow gamers to use multiplayer for free on free-to-play games, the edge reported.
“We made a mistake today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of the game and we have failed to meet the expectations of the players who rely on it every day. Therefore, we have decided not to change the Xbox Live Gold pricing ”. Microsoft said in its update. “We’re turning this moment into an opportunity to make Xbox Live more in line with how we see the gamer at the center of their experience. For free games, you will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play these games on Xbox. “
G / O Media can get commission
Microsoft did not say when free multiplayer would come for free games, only that it was working to do so “as soon as possible” over the next few months.
In terms of pricing for Xbox Live Gold, existing members will stay at their current price for renewal. New and existing members can pay $ 9.99 for one month, $ 24.99 for three months, $ 39.99 for six months and $ 59.99 for retail 12 months, per business.
It was not difficult to deduce that the price increase proposed by the company would not be taken into account very well. First of all, he offers this during a pandemic, which has benefited his game division. Second, he didn’t even bother to explain why he was raising the price. The only reason he gave was that she would “continue to invest” in the Xbox community and that in many markets the price of Xbox Live Gold had not changed for over 10 years.
“Periodically, we evaluate the value and prices of our services to reflect changes in regional markets and to continue to invest in the Xbox community; we will be making price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in certain markets, ”the company said in its original blog post.
Microsoft’s now-suppressed price hike was seen by a lot as part of the company’s effort to get gamers to switch to its Game Pass Ultimate service, which gives members access to Game Pass, a service with a library of Netflix-style games, and Xbox Live Gold, among other benefits, for $ 14.99 per month. The deal for Game Pass Ultimate is better than paying for Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass alone and would end up making Microsoft more money in the long run.
As indicated by Polygon, however, not everyone can afford to buy Game Pass Ultimate, and they shouldn’t be forced to do so just to put more money in Microsoft’s pockets. Fortunately, they won’t have to do that now, and they will be able to celebrate this fact by playing multiplayer on free games in the near future.
[ad_2]
Source link