“We made a mistake today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of the game and we don’t live up to the expectations of the players who rely on it every day. As a result, we decided not to change the price of Xbox Live Gold.
“We are turning this moment into an opportunity to bring Xbox Live more in line with how we see the player at the center of their experience. The free games will be really free and you will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play on Xbox We are working hard to offer this change as quickly as possible in the coming months.
“If you’re already an Xbox Live Gold member, you remain at the current renewal price. New and existing members can continue to enjoy Xbox Live Gold for the same prices they pay today. In the U.S., $ 9.99 for 1 month, $ 24.99 for 3 months, $ 39.99 for 6 months and $ 59.99 for 12 months retail. “
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, started Twitter apologize for the “anguish and emotion” that the initial announcement caused and say that the company will learn from it in the future.
“We apologize for all the anguish and emotion this has caused our customers today,” wrote Spencer. “As always, we appreciate the feedback. This is a good learning opportunity for us and we will learn from it.”
Prior to the reversal, we wrote an opinion piece on how that increase was not a great look for Microsoft, especially during a pandemic. Fortunately, for many around the world, now this is all good news.
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Adam Bankhurst is an IGN news writer. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.