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Contents6
  1. Consumer impact summary
  2. Incidents
  3. Service shutdowns
  4. Xbox GamePass (2017-present)
  5. See also
  6. References
Xbox Network
Basic Information
Release Year 2002
Product Type Server, Video Games
In Production Yes
Official Website https://xbox.com/live


Xbox Network, formerly Xbox Live, is a subscription service launched on 15 November 2002, for the original Xbox. In 2021, Microsoft rebranded Xbox Live to Xbox Network.

Consumer impact summary

  • User freedom: Service is mandatory for users intending to play online games, however in 2021, free-to-play games do not have this requirement.[1]
  • User privacy: Same data collection practices as is outlined by other Microsoft products.[2]
  • Business model: When formerly Xbox Live, it functioned as a subscription service to access online features. In 2021, it now covers Xbox Game Pass, among other subscription-based monetization models. It also receives revenue from product sales on the Microsoft Store.
  • Market control: Exclusively available for Xbox and Windows platforms; only option for online features on current Xbox consoles.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Xbox Network category.

Service shutdowns

Games for Windows Live - Unknown

Games for Windows Live (GFWL), the version of Xbox Live intended for Windows PCs at the time, was announced to shut down on 1 July 2014,[3] however Microsoft stated that GFWL would not be shut down roughly one month before the announced shutdown.[4] Regardless of the announcement, features under GFWL were increasingly deprecated since 2014, most importantly for right to ownership, the game license activation service, which was required in order to launch any game released for GFWL.[5]

In 2020, the GFWL client download page was removed, and server support for logging in was wiped. Two years later, logins stopped functioning.[6]

Games With Gold (September 2023)

Prior to 14 September 2023, users who paid for Xbox Live Gold received three free games that were permanently added to the user's account each month under the "Games With Gold" program. When Xbox Live Gold was transitioned to Game Pass Core, subscribers instead receive temporary access to a rotating selection of 25 randomly chosen titles on Game Pass.[7][8][9]

First-generation Xbox Live Shutdown (2010)

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

Xbox GamePass (2017-present)

Main article: Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass is the latest subscription service provided by Xbox which was originally announced and launched to provide video games in the format that Netflix provides Movies. The games catalogue is huge as of now due to the enormous investing by Microsoft.[10] Although a user subscribing to this service only gets to download and play the provided games as long as the subscription is active.Later on in 2019 Xbox added Xbox live Gold into the Game Pass subscription subsequently removing a separate subscription for gold.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Warren, Tom (22 Mar 2021). "Microsoft rebrands Xbox Live to Xbox network". The Verge. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 Nov 2025.
  2. ↑ "Microsoft Privacy Statement". Microsoft. Oct 2025. Archived from the original on 28 Jan 2026. Retrieved 17 Nov 2025.
  3. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (19 Aug 2013). "Microsoft: Games for Windows Live service ending July 2014". Polygon. Archived from the original on 29 Oct 2013. Retrieved 13 Feb 2026.
  4. ↑ Maiberg, Emanuel (21 Jun 2014). "Microsoft Says It's Not Shutting Down Games for Windows Live". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 25 Jun 2014. Retrieved 17 Nov 2025.
  5. ↑ Bari, Muhammad Ali (20 Apr 2025). "Games For Windows Live Game License Activation Service No Longer Appears To Be Functional". Twisted Voxel. Archived from the original on 20 Apr 2025. Retrieved 13 Feb 2026.
  6. ↑ Wadmodder Shalton (10 Sep 2021). "Games for Windows- Live dead, broken & shutdown without warning, 2020 onwards". Doom World. Archived from the original on 9 Aug 2024. Retrieved 13 Feb 2026.
  7. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (17 Jul 2023). "End of an Era as Microsoft Replaces Xbox Live Gold With Game Pass Core". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 Jul 2023. Retrieved 17 Nov 2025.
  8. ↑ =McWhertor, Michael (17 Jul 2023). "Xbox Game Pass Core to replace Xbox Live Gold in September". Polygon. Archived from the original on 6 Feb 2026. Retrieved 17 Nov 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  9. ↑ Warren, Tom (14 Sep 2023). "Xbox Game Pass Core is launching with 36 games this week". The Verge. Archived from the original on 6 Feb 2026. Retrieved 13 Feb 2026.
  10. ↑ Mackuch, Eddie (2025-09-22). "Game Pass Gets "Largest Investment" To Date This Year, Xbox Boss Says". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2025-09-22. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  11. ↑ Warren, Tom (April 5, 2019). "Microsoft to combine Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live into $14.99-a-month subscription". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.

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