Microsoft has officially stopped selling the 12-month subscription option of Xbox Live Gold at the Microsoft Store, but the company will continue to offer the one and three-month options as reported by Eurogamer.
The move to remove the subscription option also leads to speculate that the service could eventually be retired or reworked for the Xbox Series X, which is expected to launch later in 2020.
Although the company didn’t announce the change, it did confirm that the discontinuation of the one-year Xbox Live Gold subscription option was not an accident.
“At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online Store,” a Microsoft spokesperson said to TrueAchievements. “Customers can still sign up for a one month or three-month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store.”
The timing of the news aligns with other changes that Microsoft has been making around its gaming platform, including its xCloud gaming streaming service becoming a perk as part of the Xbox Games Pass Ultimate subscription (starting September 2020), and terminating production of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.