There have been a lot of rumors that Microsoft is doing away with Xbox Live, but the company says that couldn’t be further from the truth. While the team has combined the xCloud streaming services with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, there was a bit of a verbiage mixup regarding where Xbox Live stands, especially with the recent removal of this branding from their Terms of Service. Luckily, Microsoft has clarified these rumors and the speculation from whence they came.
A Microsoft rep clarified that the removal of the Xbox Live branding from the Terms of Service refers to underlying features, not to the service as a whole. In reality, there are no “major” changes coming to Xbox Live for the foreseeable future – at least any they are ready to talk about quite yet.
“The update to ‘Xbox online service’ in the Microsoft Services Agreement refers to the underlying Xbox service that includes features like cross-saves and friend requests,” a Microsoft representative recently told GameSpot. “This language update is intended to distinguish that underlying service, and the paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. There are no changes being made to the experience of the service or Xbox Live Gold.”
The verbiage mixup was just that; a mixup. Xbox Live is still very much an option for players to enjoy and there are no plans currently for that to change. This is great, considering Xbox Live is a phenomenal way for players to unlock all online features, instant access to tons of free-to-play titles, and four free games a month with their Games With Gold feature.
As Microsoft prepares to launch into the next generation with the Xbox Series X, some aspects of the current generation will change; that’s unavoidable. That being said, rumors have a habit of quickly escalating to extreme degrees, which is why we here at Prima did not cover the original story because we couldn’t get any form of corroboration that this was a move the company was making.
Related: Xbox Online Is Totally Free This Weekend Alongside Free AAA Games, No Xbox Live Needed
We still don’t have a release date for the Xbox Series X, but at least we know that our memberships will carry over.
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What do you think about the evolving memberships Microsoft has for their Xbox One playerbase? Would you like to see the Xbox Live service continue? Sound off with your thoughts over on Twitter @PrimaGames, we’d love to hear what you think!
