Being one of the best-selling subscriptions, Xbox Live Gold is reportedly ending in September. With a big collection of free games and better deals, Xbox Game Pass has always been a more favorable deal for players. Considering that Live Gold offers multiplayer gaming, discounts, and more online functions, many players would agree otherwise. While Microsoft had previously discontinued its 12-month subscription option, it seems like the company will cancel the Live Gold, once and for all. But if the Xbox Live Gold is going away on September 1, will Microsoft remove the rotating library of games, online multiplayer functionality, and more of its features?
Xbox Live Gold Ending on September 1, 2023
Currently, it’s officially confirmed that the Xbox Live Gold is going away by Microsoft. Before this confirmation, the news was already capturing the attention of Xbox players when buzzing on Twitter. According to a Video Games insider, Wario64 on Twitter, the subscription tier will be transitioning from September 1, 2023. This news comes, thanks to a Korean site that claims that the term “Xbox Live Gold” will soon be eliminated.
In place of the Live Gold, the Xbox Game Pass “Core” will be replacing XBLG as confirmed by the site. When you click on the site, it shows you a link posted by Windows Central (over here). But soon as you clicked on that URL earlier, either the article was deleted or that link is broken. As speculated by the community, the currently broken link might have been picked up by the Korean site. Turns out, the leaks were true as Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Live Gold will be transitioning into Core.
The Xbox Game Pass Core subscription tier will replace the previous subscription and its features. Along with that, Xbox confirmed that all the existing Live Gold subscribers will be converted to Core on September 14, 2023. This subscription will be priced the same as the “Live Gold” at $9.99 for a month and $59.99 for a year. But even though it costs the same as the XBLG, the free games offered with Gold will be coming to an end on September 1.
Luckily, the silver lining over here is that the Core subscription will be offering 25+ Game Pass exclusive games. Here’s the list of the confirmed games coming to the Xbox Game Pass Core:
- 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 and the Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Microsoft has stated that they will be adding more games in the coming months. While having the same features as the Xbox Live Gold, the Core subscription will offer online multiplayer and various benefits. In addition, the discounts offered to the Game Pass subscribers will also apply to the “Core” subscribers.
But since it hasn’t been confirmed by Microsoft or any officials yet, we recommend taking it with a grain of salt. Hopefully, we will be getting more credible information in the future. When that happens, we will update this guide with the official revealed details.
Update: It is officially confirmed that Xbox Live Gold will be replaced by Xbox Game Pass Core.
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