Microsoft may mash up Xbox Live, Game Pass into new Ultimate subscription
The tech giant is rumored to be preparing a new gaming subscription service.
If you're a gamer, Microsoft may have a new subscription service to offer you.
The tech giant is planning a new subscription service that would combine two of its online gaming services into one larger subscription, according to Microsoft leaker WalkingCat and Thurrott.com. If true, Microsoft would combine its $60 per year Xbox Live, which is a gaming social network where you can play and chat with friends, with its its $9.99 per month Xbox Game Pass, which gives players access to a back catalog of more than 100 games, such as the world building game Minecraft and the epic action series Gears of War.
The new combined service, which rumors call Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, would cost $14.99 a month.
An Xbox representative declined to comment.
The new subscription is just the latest change Microsoft has planned for its Xbox. The company has said it's building a new Xbox console, which is said to be planned for release next year. The company is also building a game streaming service, which would let people play games over the internet in a way similar to how they watch movies on Netflix. And it's rumored to be preparing to announce a lower-priced "all digital" Xbox this month that doesn't have a disc drive and would play only games downloaded or streamed over the internet.