Xbox Live Drops Subscription Requirement For Free-To-Play Games Today
You can now play online games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends without an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
As promised earlier this year, Xbox players no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to access free-to-play multiplayer games, bringing the service closer to what Sony offers with PlayStation Plus. More than 50 games that were previously locked behind the subscription's paywall are now available to all Xbox players. They include a few unexpected games that we don't usually think of when we hear "free-to-play."
Free-to-play now means free-to-play.
— Xbox (@Xbox) April 21, 2021
Starting now, all Xbox players can access these free-to-play games with or without an Xbox Live Gold subscription: https://t.co/krFop3Qkg6 pic.twitter.com/CVbRK2hpus
The game list includes a huge number of games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Warframe. Some unexpected games like Resident Evil Revelations 2 and Too Human--the latter of which was previously removed from sale after a court ruling--are also included in the list.
The change came about following players' displeasure at Microsoft's plan to raise the price of Xbox Live Gold, though the change wasn't going to affect those who already had recurring payments turned on. Following the backlash, however, Microsoft decided not to increase the price for anyone and announced that free-to-play games would no longer require Xbox Live Gold.
The new policy puts Xbox more in line with PlayStation, which had already made free-to-play games truly free. It appears Sony could be offering a new perk for PS Plus subscribers, as well, as a video pass leaked from the Polish PlayStation site and listed several Sony movies before being taken down.
Microsoft seems to be putting considerably less emphasis on Xbox Live Gold altogether over the last few years, putting most of its eggs in the Game Pass basket. With a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you get access to Xbox Live Gold already, along with both Xbox and PC games. Xbox Live Gold isn't even given its own tab on the Xbox website's menu anymore, instead being buried within the Game Pass section.
The full list of supported games is below:
- 3on3 FreeStyle
- Aegis Wing
- APB Reloaded
- Apex Legends
- Armored Warfare
- Battle Ages
- Battle Islands
- Battle Islands: Commanders
- Bless Unleashed
- Brawlhalla
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Crackdown
- Crackdown 2
- Crimson Alliance
- Crossout
- CRSED: F.O.A.D.
- Darwin Project
- Dauntless
- DC Universe Online
- Dead or Alive 5 Last Round: Core Fighters
- Dead or Alive 6: Core Fighters
- Defiance 2050
- Destiny 2
- Doritos Crash Course
- Dungeon Defenders II
- Enlisted
- Eternal Card Game
- Family Game Night
- Fishing Planet
- Fortnite
- Galaxy Control: Arena
- Gems of War
- Happy Wars
- Harm’s Way
- Hawken
- Hyper Scape
- Killer Instinct
- Korgan
- Minion Masters
- Neverwinter
- Outriders (Demo)
- Paladins
- Path of Exile
- Phantasy Star Online 2
- Phantom Dust
- Pinball FX2
- Prominence Poker
- Realm Royale
- Rec Room
- Resident Evil Revelations 2
- ROBLOX
- Rocket League
- Rogue Company
- Skyforge
- SMITE
- Spacelords
- Spellbreak
- Star Trek Online
- Techwars Global Conflict
- TERA
- The Four Kings Casino and Slots
- Too Human
- Trove
- Vigor
- War Thunder
- Warface
- Warframe
- World of Tanks
- World of Warships: Legends
- Yaris
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