Xbox Removes 12 Month Live Gold Subscription Option

Unfortunate news comes to anyone that prefers to pay their subscriptions annually. Microsoft Xbox is removing the option to purchase a 12 month subscription to their premiere online service, Xbox Live Gold.

According to a report by TrueAchievements, Xbox had removed the 12 month purchase option for Live Gold. Only the 1 month and 3 month options remain. Microsoft confirmed their report, revealing that the removal was intentional, and provided the following statement.

"At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft online store. Customers can still sign up for a one-month or three-month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store."

For those unfamiliar, Xbox Live Gold is the premium service for Xbox consoles. A paid service, it unlocks various features for an Xbox Live account, such as online play, game discounts, and free monthly games. This is similar to other services, such as PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online.

Currently, if someone wants to purchase a 12 month subscription, they have to do so through third party retailers. We expect this option to disappear in time as well.

This will also mean that the service will become slightly more expensive. Before, users would gain a mild discount when purchasing the longer options. A single month of Gold costs $9.99, while the 3 and 12 month options cost $24.99 and $59.99 respectively. This made the 12 month option cost half as much as the one month choice. This now means that the most affordable plan is the three month option, costing around $100 a year, $40 more than what the 12 month plan costs.

Xbox did not provide an explanation as to why they would remove the option, leaving speculation to develop. RUnning theories are that its an attempt to encourage more folks to sign up for their Game Pass service, which bundles with Gold. Another is that Xbox may be planning to renovate their Gold program with the launch of the Xbox Series X console later this year.

The only way to know for sure is to wait and see. Stay tuned.