I understand that we have to pay but why do we have to pay for a game that is free, Playstation has PS plus but they have a rule whee if a game is free to play then you dont need the requirement of PS plus however with Xbox you do. This is very unfair. You say it is free but you have to pay £5.99 to play.

Do you have to pay for Xbox Live on PC?

Sure, Microsoft has server costs to pay (not for the games themselves – most are peer-to-peer) but Sony gets by without charging (its new PlayStation Plus service still offers free online gaming) and PC gamers don’t have to pay either.

Why do we need Xbox Live for free games?

Xbox has decided that Live is required for ANY multiplayer game, regardless of what the game (be it full game, or just a specific game mode) costs. If you have feedback/suggestions on the situation, the best place to post is at so the right people see it. Did this solve your problem?

How much does Xbox Live cost in the UK?

The issue has been around for years, but yesterday Microsoft announced an Xbox LIVE price hike. From 1 November, a one-month’s subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold will cost £5.99 instead of £4.99 in the UK. Unlike in the US, which will now cost an extra $10 a year, there’ll be no change to the UK’s yearly cost of £39.99. Is Xbox LIVE still the best?

I understand that we have to pay but why do we have to pay for a game that is free, Playstation has PS plus but they have a rule whee if a game is free to play then you dont need the requirement of PS plus however with Xbox you do. This is very unfair. You say it is free but you have to pay £5.99 to play.

Sure, Microsoft has server costs to pay (not for the games themselves – most are peer-to-peer) but Sony gets by without charging (its new PlayStation Plus service still offers free online gaming) and PC gamers don’t have to pay either.

Xbox has decided that Live is required for ANY multiplayer game, regardless of what the game (be it full game, or just a specific game mode) costs. If you have feedback/suggestions on the situation, the best place to post is at so the right people see it. Did this solve your problem?

The issue has been around for years, but yesterday Microsoft announced an Xbox LIVE price hike. From 1 November, a one-month’s subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold will cost £5.99 instead of £4.99 in the UK. Unlike in the US, which will now cost an extra $10 a year, there’ll be no change to the UK’s yearly cost of £39.99. Is Xbox LIVE still the best?