Last month, we found out that Microsoft was planning to remove the subscription fees for Xbox Live Gold on free-to-play games. It made sense since most of the draw for free-to-play games was the fact that they were free, and besides, Microsoft still made a cut on whatever in-game purchases players made.
That news came at the end of March from Xbox Preview Program developer Brad Rossetti. For the past few weeks, Alpha Skip Ahead and Xbox Preview members have been able to test out the new and improved (that is to say, free) functionality of Xbox Live without the Gold, and now Microsoft is happy to report that the free-to-play floodgates are ready to open.
Microsoft has announced that Xbox users can now play over 50 free-to-play multiplayer games without needing to pay for Xbox Live Gold. This includes such mainstay titles as Apex Legends, Call Of Duty: Warzone, Warframe, Destiny 2, Fortnite, Rocket League, and many more.
Xbox Wire has the full list of games here. And on top of that, Xboxers will now be able to use both Xbox Party Chat and Looking For Group features as well, both free of charge.
This is a significant change in course for Microsoft, which had tried to hike Xbox Live Gold prices back in January. However, public outcry convinced Microsoft to back down on those price hikes and instead think of how better to monetize its platforms.
Which seems to be through Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft recently confirmed that there are now over 23 million active monthly subscribers on Game Pass, with five of those millions arriving in just the past three months. Games like Outriders and MLB The Show arriving on release day are making Game Pass an even more attractive deal for gamers looking to have a wide library for a low monthly fee.