Today Xbox gamers woke up with a bit of a surprise when Microsoft officially announced to increase the price of Xbox Live Gold Subscriptions by $1 for one month plan and $5 on the 3-month plan.
The pricing change meant that a full year of Xbox Live Gold will go for nearly $120, double the price of Sony’s PlayStation Plus Yearly Subscription or 100$ more than Nintendo’s Switch Online Yearly Membership.
The reason Microsft quoted originally was “periodical assessment of the value and pricing of our services to reflect changes in regional marketplaces and to continue to invest in the Xbox community.”
After the announcement went viral, many Xbox players and gamers were shocked by the sudden increase in price and were angry with the decision. Many players accused Microsft of being out of touch with the economic situation of customers during this tough pandemic time, as well as continuing to require them to pay for Xbox Live subscriptions to play free-to-play games like “Fortnite” and “Call Of Duty: Warzone.”
Soon after facing the heat of a backlash from the gaming community, Microsoft decided to rollback the changes made to the Xbox Live Gold pricing and said “We messed up today and you were right to let us know,” in the blog post on the Xbox website.
“Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of gaming and we failed to meet the expectations of players who count on it every day. As a result, we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.”
Besides rolling back the price hike, Microsoft also decided to let go of the need for an Xbox Live Gold account to play free-to-play games on the console.
“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, continued the post. This change will take effect in the coming months.”
With that out of the way, a new or existing subscriber to the Xbox Live Gold service can enjoy the service at old prices — one-month subscription at $9.99, three-month subscription at $24.99, six-month subscription at $39.99, and finally the 12-month retail-only subscription at $59.99.
