Since last year, rumors of the discontinuation of Xbox Live Gold have multiplied. Many then spoke of the free service for subscribers and the end of the silver / gold distinction. Today Microsoft confirms the renaming of its proprietary network, but without giving up Xbox Live Gold. Welcome to the Xbox network.
The first images illustrating the Xbox network were posted on the internet yesterday. Various players have actually seen the term “network” appear instead of “live” when uploading captures to the service or during updates. As a result, several sources reported changes to the Xbox Live Terms of Service. The term, known for 18 years, has indeed been replaced several times by Network in order to present the brand-specific Internet network. A development that Microsoft finally confirmed in the columns of The Verge.
The Xbox Network refers to the underlying Xbox online service that has been updated in the Microsoft Service Agreement. The purpose of upgrading from Xbox Live to Xbox Network is to differentiate the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.
Xbox Live is now called Xbox Network. In this way the company simplifies its ecosystem and only keeps the live name for subscriptions. So it is always possible to join a group of friends on Live, but we will be using the Xbox network for this.
This adjustment takes place shortly after free games have become playable without a paid subscription. It is certain that the goal is to make the Xbox network easier to understand and avoid confusion, especially among the general public. Fortnite therefore requires access to the Xbox network in order to function for free, while Live Gold provides access to the multiplayer services of paid games.
A partial name change that ultimately makes it easier to distinguish users from subscribers!
