Microsoft is announcing today that Xbox Party Chat will be free for Xbox owners soon. The software maker started testing a new Xbox dashboard update with testers today that unlocks Xbox Party Chat, multiplayer in free games and the Looking For Groups (LFG) feature.
Xbox Party Chat is a surprise addition to Microsoft’s announced plans to remove paid access for free multiplayer games. The removal came after Microsoft was forced to reverse an increase in the price of its Xbox Live Gold subscriptions earlier this year. Microsoft is also renaming its Xbox Live service to the Xbox network only, which is part of the changes to the panel the company is currently testing.
Xbox Insiders on Alpha Skip Ahead & Alpha, today we are launching some new features. Multiplayer mode in free games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription, as we fly and test these service changes before general availability
– Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) March 24, 2021
Xbox testers can now access free multiplayer games, such as Fifteen days, without needing an Xbox Live Gold subscription. This puts Xbox in line with Sony and Nintendo’s online services, which also do not require subscription to free games.
These changes will appear for all Xbox owners in the coming months, as soon as Microsoft is ready to send this panel update to all users. This latest panel update also includes a new firmware update for the Xbox Wireless headset that will improve microphone monitoring levels and decrease the volume of status tones.