Xbox Live Multiplayer Is Free This Weekend, Says Microsoft

Following Microsoft’s denial that it is shutting down Xbox Live Gold and making it free for all players, the software giant is making multiplayer on Xbox free just for this weekend.

Running from Thursday, August 6, until Monday, August 10, Video Games Chronicle reports that players will be able to use Xbox’s online features even without an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

The Xbox website has also announced that a few select games have been revealed to be available for free. These are “Monster Hunter World,” “ARK: Survival Evolved,” “Gears 5,” “The Elder Scrolls Online,” “Subnautica,” and “Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker.”

“Monster Hunter World” is an action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom that was released in 2018. “ARK: Survival Evolved” is a 2017 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard, in collaboration with Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, and Virtual Basement.

Released last year, “Gears 5” is a third-person shooter video game developed by The Coalition and published by Xbox Game Studios. Release on the Xbox One in 2015, “The Elder Scrolls Online” is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.

An open-world survival action-adventure video game developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, “Subnautica” was first released in 2014. The ninja multiplayer fighting game “Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker” was released in 2018.

Just last month, multiple sources reported that the long-running Xbox Live Gold service could be renamed or phased out completely. The multiplayer mode was rumored to be turning into a free service to coincide with the launch of the Xbox Series X, which is arriving this holiday season.

These reports started in light of Microsoft’s decision to stop selling 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions for its online store. Some changes in the wording of the Microsoft service agreement removed most references to Xbox Live, further fueling speculation that changes were on the horizon.

However, a Microsoft spokesperson stated on Wednesday that “no changes” were being made to Xbox Live Gold.

“The update to ‘Xbox online service’ in the Microsoft Services Agreement refers to the underlying Xbox service that includes features like cross-saves and friend requests,” the spokesperson told Video Games Chronicle.