Microsoft Rebrands Xbox Live To Xbox Network

Microsoft Inc. has rebranded Xbox live, its underlying online multiplayer and digital media delivery service, to ‘Xbox network’. the company says will help distinguish it from Xbox Live Gold.

Xbox Live has been the name in use since the service’s debut alongside the original Xbox in 2002. Hints on rebranding emerged last August when the name was dropped from its updated Service Agreement in favour of ‘Xbox online service’ but was denied by Microsoft.

The company has finally made the rebranding official with users noticing the removal of the Xbox Live moniker in Microsoft’s recently Xbox dashboard beta.

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"'Xbox network' refers to the underlying Xbox online service, which was updated in the Microsoft Services Agreement," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge in a statement.

"The update from 'Xbox Live' to 'Xbox network' is intended to distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.”

Xbox Live Gold made headlines at the start of the year when Microsoft announced a price hike for the subscription service.

The move was heavily criticised, coming as it did amid a pandemic and a global financial crisis, and the decision was quickly reversed, with Microsoft also announcing it would finally make free-to-play games playable without a subscription on Xbox.