Microsoft has continued it’s trend of retiring the Xbox Live branding by changing it’s Xbox Live Gold subscription service and replacing it Game Pass Core. Game Pass Core will represent the entry-level subscription tier in Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which will start at $10.95 AUD for a month-to-month plan, or $79 AUD for a yearly subscription.
The two services will broadly be similar in terms of functions and features, with some notable exceptions:
- Xbox Live Gold’s two free games a month will be substituted for a rotating roster of games (Listed below) which will be updated 2-3 times a year.
- The Games with Gold promotion will be retired from September 1st 2023, Xbox 360 games already redeemed under Games with Gold will be kept in player’s account libraries, with Xbox One games previously redeemed continuing to be made available as long as the account has an active Game Pass subscription.
Access to online multiplayer will remain unchanged. As part of this change, Microsoft have announced the initial roster of games which will be made available on 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 & The Will of the Wisps
- Psychonauts 2
- State of Decay 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers will automatically be rolled over to the new service September 14th 2023. Xbox Live was launched in November 2002 for the original Xbox, and later expanded to the paid Gold and free Silver tiers for the Xbox 360. Further details about Game Pass Core can be found on the Game Pass Core Xbox Australia product page, or the official announcement from Xbox.
