Xbox have confirmed to The Verge that Xbox Live is now officially renamed as Xbox Network. This comes after 18 years of Xbox Live, and is a move to clarify the services available from Xbox Live Gold memberships.
Xbox Network will mark a new era in the social aspects of the platform for gamers. The move seems to represent a shift in mentality to keep the service in line with competitors PlayStation Network and Nintendo Switch Online.
In addition, the move looks to continue a service for users to experience the most from online gameplay. Hopefully Xbox Network will show Microsoft continue to push the limits of multiplayer gameplay.
Xbox network 🤔 https://t.co/E49QQzQFad pic.twitter.com/OQS1cRsrZ2
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 21, 2021
This news follows some speculation after Microsoft made changes to the Xbox Services Agreement. In addition, this raised some concerns over whether Xbox Live membership was to be subject to further changes. The statement from Microsoft indicates it is merely a name change.
Furthermore, this comes as pleasant news to those angered by plans earlier this year to increase the price of Xbox Live membership. These plans were quickly scrapped after the negative community feedback and it seems there is little development on this front.
Following from this, the announcement made in January 2021 regarding free-to-play games not requiring a Xbox Live Gold membership has had no further announcements on when it will be put in place.
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