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Microsoft combines Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass in new 'ultimate' service

The new subscription offers a discount for Xbox devotees, now at $14.99 a month.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
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Microsoft is expanding the services it offers for the Xbox.

 CNET

Microsoft has a new Xbox service to offer gamers.

The tech giant said on Tuesday that it's planning to offer a new subscription service that would combine two of its online gaming services into one larger subscription for $14.99 a month.

The new service, called Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, combines Microsoft's $60 per year Xbox Live Gold with its $9.99 per month Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Live Gold is a gaming social network where you can play and chat with friends. Xbox Game Pass gives players access to a back catalog of more than 100 games, such as the world building title Minecraft and the epic action series Gears of War.

The Ultimate service launches later this year, Microsoft said, though the company will begin testing it soon.

"We heard you," Microsoft said in a statement. The announcement was made during the company's Inside Xbox livestream Tuesday. The company also announced a new $249 Xbox One S All-Digital Edition device, launching May 7.

The new subscription is just the latest change Microsoft has planned for its Xbox. The company has said it's building a new Xbox console, which is said to be planned for release next year. 

The company is also building a game streaming service, which would let people play games over the internet in a way similar to how they watch movies on Netflix.