It's unclear how long the new price will stand for

Feb 26, 2015 21:47 GMT  ·  By

The price of the one-year subscription to the Xbox Live Gold service has been cut by Microsoft to 40 dollars (32 Euro), down from 60 dollars (54 Euro), for all those who are living in the United States and are willing to commit starting from now on.

The new price is now featured on the official store site of the company, but no official announcement about it has been made so far and it's unclear whether it is only a temporary measure designed to make the Xbox One and the 360 more attractive or a long-term strategy.

Recently, the company has announced that it will offer double the number of Games for Gold titles for its subscribers in April in order to celebrate their fidelity to the program.

The cut in price might be another way to thank the community, and given that it's unclear how long it will last, it would make sense for those who play on Microsoft devices to take advantage of it.

Earlier in the year, Microsoft has also reduced the price tag of the Xbox One home console to 349 dollars (269 Euro), the same price that allowed the console to defeat the PlayStation 4 in terms of sales late in 2014.

Those who subscribe to Xbox Live Gold will get multiplayer access to Games for Gold titles and get better deals on other video games.

For the coming month, Xbox One fans will get Rayman Legends, while those who own a 360 will play BioShock Infinite and the new Tomb Raider for free.

Xbox One needs to increase its sales

The Xbox Live Gold price cut might have a long-term impact on sales of the Xbox One, but it would make more sense for the company to broadcast the change and to try and show how its service is offering more value than the rival one from Sony.

Rumors are saying that in May the company is also planning to make a big announcement about the future of apps on its home console.

Developers will get a Software Development Kit and will be able to create and publish their own applications in an open environment, which will apparently be launched in November.

Microsoft also has big plans to integrate the Xbox One with the coming Windows 10 operating system.

Update: Microsoft confirms that the price cut is just temporary on the Xbox Live Gold 12-month subscription and that it will go back up in the near future, once the deal expires.