Next-Gen Xbox Ends the Console Tax: Say Goodbye to Paid Multiplayer

Remember paying a monthly tax just to play online on Xbox? Sounds like Microsoft is finally getting ready to kill that off for good with its next console. And the reasoning actually makes sense this time.

The big shift: multiplayer without the tollbooth

Per a new Windows Central report, the next Xbox will drop the paywall for online multiplayer. That would put console players on the same footing as PC folks, who have never paid for basic online play. Given what this machine is rumored to be, charging for multiplayer would be a tough sell anyway.

So what is this thing, exactly?

The pitch is basically: a curated Windows gaming box that plays nice with your TV and controller, but still acts like a PC under the hood. Think full Windows compatibility wrapped in a console-style interface.

• Platforms it aims to support: the entire Xbox console library, plus Steam, Battle.net, and the Epic Games Store. Even PlayStation first-party PC ports like 'God of War' and 'Spider-Man' are part of the vision.
• UI and feel: expect the Xbox Full Screen Experience, the TV-friendly shell Microsoft rolled out in its collaboration with the Asus ROG Ally. Idea is PC power and flexibility, console simplicity.
• Hardware: new AMD silicon, designed to run all current Xbox Series X|S games and older backward-compatible titles.
• Multiplayer: no separate paywall. Right now, online access can run roughly $120 a year; removing that cost would be a pretty loud value play.
• Price rumors: early chatter puts it around $800–$1,200. A separate rumor making the rounds (via MBG) pegs it higher at $1,000–$1,500, with a possible 2027 launch window.

Microsoft is saying the quiet part out loud

Xbox president Sarah Bond recently confirmed that next-gen hardware is in active development and framed it as high-end by design.

'Very premium, very high-end curated experience.'

If the box is essentially a Windows machine, keeping a multiplayer fee would just push people to buy a PC instead. Removing the toll evens the field and makes the hardware more appealing for anyone who wants plug-and-play without a desktop under the desk.

Why this is a bigger deal than it sounds

For context: Xbox started charging for online play back in 2002 to fund infrastructure. That model stuck through Xbox Live, then morphed into Game Pass tiers, and helped define the entire console business for two decades. Sony and Nintendo followed with PS Plus and Nintendo Switch Online. If Xbox drops the paywall next gen, that is a major break with how consoles have operated since the PS2 era.

The catch

Calling this a Windows-powered console is great marketing. Shipping a box that actually feels like a console — fast, stable, invisible updates, no weird driver drama — is the hard part. If Microsoft nails the handoff between PC flexibility and couch-friendly simplicity, this could be a best-of-both-worlds device. If not, it is just a living room PC with a prettier coat of paint.

The obvious question

If Xbox leans fully into a PC-style platform and keeps putting its games everywhere, do people still buy the hardware? Or do they just buy a PC and call it a day? I get why Microsoft would do this — more players, fewer barriers — but the box has to feel special to be worth those rumored price tags.

Either way, the end of the multiplayer paywall is long overdue. Your move, Sony and Nintendo.