As an Xbox One owner, a variety of subscriptions are now available, that provide access to games and services for a flat monthly fee. One of the most popular of these is Xbox Live Gold, the console's cohesive subscription for online services, which expands Xbox Live's capabilities with additional features. Among the benefits is access to online multiplayer, exclusive discounts and regular free titles via "Games with Gold."

Though Xbox Live offerings have grown since its initial launch, its value can still be questioned. PC games rarely encounter subscription fees, Windows 10 users can access Xbox Live for no additional cost and while Sony's rival "PlayStation Network" requires a subscription for online multiplayer, there are still some exceptions in the free-to-play genre. This discussion recently surfaced on the Windows Central forums, where community member "sasivarnan" brought up the disparity between online services across these platforms.

sasivarnan

I am planning to buy a gaming console. I am looking to buy either Xbox One S or PS4. Xbox One S is really awesome and has various unique features like Backwards compatibility and availability of EA Access. BUT I found that even for playing Free to Play multiplayer games, we need to have Xbox Gold subscription. Whereas in PS4 Free to Play multiplayer games doesn't need Playstation Plus...

Reply

The value of Xbox Live Gold and other online services isn't likely to change anytime soon, but it's still worth stepping back and considering what you get for your money. But we want to hear from you – what are your thoughts on the value of Xbox Live Gold? What would you like to see from other platforms? Make sure to drop into the forum thread below and join the conversation.

From the forums: I would like to buy Xbox One S - BUT How to save money on Xbox Live Gold

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