Microsoft has officially rebranded its Xbox Live service.
It will now be known as the Xbox network going forward.
Whilst initially only appearing to beta testers, Microsoft has recently confirmed the change.
Several users on Twitter noticed the absense of “Xbox Live” on their Xbox consoles;
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that;
“Xbox network refers to the underlying Xbox online service… The update from ‘Xbox Live’ to ‘Xbox network’ is intended to distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships”.
Xbox Live has been a part of the Xbox service since 2002. Since then, it has been a requirement to access the internet on Xbox consoles, as well as provide internet-based features in many games. It also supplemented players by offering sales on a rolling troupe of games. However, there are plans at Xbox that would see it dropping the need for a paid-for subscription to play free-to-play games (Fortnite, Apex Legends, etc). It is not yet known when Microsoft will drop this paywall.
A specific paid-for subscription service will still exist as Xbox Live Gold.
ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.