Update:
Xbox decided to cancel the price hike of Xbox Live Gold affirming that they “missed the mark” The official statement
We’re turning this moment into an opportunity to bring Xbox Live more in line with how we see the player at the center of their experience.
Microsoft has just announced a price increase for its Xbox Live Gold service.
Along with the announcement of February’s line up of Games with Gold, Microsoft announced that one month of the membership is increasing by $1, and the three-month subscription is increased by $5. This means that one month of Xbox Live Gold will cost $10.99, three months for $29.99, and six months for $59.99. A year of the service will be will cost $120.
Periodically, we assess the value and pricing of our services to reflect changes in regional marketplaces and to continue to invest in the Xbox community; we’ll be making price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in select markets. In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn’t changed for over 10 years.
In a featured article on Xbox’s website, the Xbox team share more insight about why the change was needed and what can players expect for the future of the service.
- If you’re an existing online 12-month or 6-month Live Gold member, there’s no price change. If you choose to renew your membership, it will renew at the current price.
- The price of 1-month Gold membership is increasing by $1 and the price of a 3-month membership is increasing by $5 or the equivalent amount in your local market.
- If you’d like to upgrade your Gold membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate your remaining Gold time will also convert directly to Ultimate (up to 36 months). For example, if you have 11 months of Xbox Live Gold now, and you upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, those 11 months convert to 11 months of Ultimate at no additional cost.
Microsoft has been sending emails and notifications to subscribers in some regions, “if you’re in a region where prices are being adjusted, you will receive an email and a message center notification over the next month letting you know what the new pricing is for your membership”. Reads the notification.
Xbox Live Gold prices won’t be increased until at least 45 days after you receive the message from Microsoft.
Source: Xbox
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