Microsoft has announced and revealed a name change for one of its services. What was once known as Xbox Live is no more. The online service will now be known as Xbox network going forward. Nothing about the service is changing other than the name. The Verge reported that the new branding started appearing in the Xbox dashboard recently for beta testers. Clips were noted to being uploaded to Xbox network instead of Xbox Live. Microsoft has since confirmed the change.
Microsoft’s Xbox online service used the name Xbox Live for 18 years when it originally launched. There were rumblings of change to the name back in August when Microsoft announced changes to its service agreements. Xbox Live was referred to as the “Xbox online service,” which prompted speculation that the service was either going away or being made free. Neither turned out to be the case. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a price increase for Xbox Live Gold, but backlash regarding the changes caused Microsoft to roll back on their decision as well as announce that they are removing Xbox Live Gold requirements for free-to-play games.
In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson said “Xbox network’ refers to the underlying Xbox online service, which was updated in the Microsoft Services Agreement. The update from ‘Xbox Live’ to ‘Xbox network’ is intended to distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.”
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Microsoft and Xbox. They officially welcomed Bethesda and its catalog of games into the Xbox family, put lot of them on Xbox Game Pass, and upgraded some of those games with FPS Boost. Microsoft also announced that the upcoming co-op action RPG Outriders is coming to Xbox Game Pass as well as Switch exclusive Octopath Traveler, and more.
This Friday, ID@Xbox, the independent and Digital games publishing program for Xbox, will be having its first Indie Showcase featuring more than 100 games from independent developers around the world. You can watch the Showcase on the Twitch Gaming Twitch channel and the Xbox Twitch channel at 9 AM PDT.