Microsoft is rebranding its Xbox Live service as the Xbox Network The move is intended to distinguish the online infrastructure from the paid Xbox Live Gold membership Despite the impending improvements, nothing will change for gamers

Historically, Xbox Live referred to Microsoft's entire online service for the console, with tiered memberships indicating whether players were paying for online play or only getting the benefits available for free Xbox Live Gold offers online multiplayer as well as free games

In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft said, "'Xbox network' is the underlying Xbox online service that has been updated in the Microsoft Service Agreement The update from 'Xbox Live' to 'Xbox network' is an update to the underlying The update from "Xbox Live" to "Xbox network" is to distinguish between the underlying service and Xbox Live Gold membership

When contacted by Eurogamer, a Microsoft spokesperson explained that "Xbox Live is not going away," adding that the company is "continuing to make adjustments to create a simpler, more straightforward Xbox messaging system in a variety of areas" As part of these updates, these experiences and features will not be changed"

The company added, "We will not be changing any of these features or experiences

Microsoft is still improving its services with the debut of the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S In January, the company attempted to raise the price of Xbox Live Gold memberships, but received backlash and dropped that rollout

The Xbox Live service has already been criticized for requiring paid memberships to play free-to-play games like "Fortnite"; the PS5 and Nintendo Switch require paid memberships to play online But gamers do not have to pay to join free-to-play titles

Gladly, this is something Microsoft plans to discontinue and will be implemented in the coming months