Games for Windows Live is now free

By Robert Purchese Published 23 July, 2008

PC Marketplace to arrive this autumn.

Microsoft has said it will no longer charge for use of Games for Windows Live.

The PC service, which is similar to an Xbox Live Gold subscription, will now be free across all existing and upcoming PC titles bearing the GfW seal.

Microsoft has also announced an autumn launch target for Games for Windows Live Marketplace, where you will be able to download demos, trailers and extra game content.

Games for Windows Live allows you to set up a friends list, earn Achievements and build a Gamerscore as 360 owners have been doing on Xbox Live.

But despite tie-ins with Shadowrun and Gears of War, the service has struggled to establish itself among PC gamers, many of whom have been taking advantage of online gaming since long before the launch of Xbox Live in 2002.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (27) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • seasidebaz #1 4 years ago

    Good news, really, as it means I can start testing online multiplayer in XNA without having to pay :)

  • JonFE #2 4 years ago

    It does make sense you know...

  • SBfistfun #3 4 years ago

    Charging for this was never going to work

  • QPRHOOPS81 #4 4 years ago

    they will just wait till people use it then charge when they have a big enough usage rate. Best to steer clear and let it die once and for all.

  • miiiguel #5 4 years ago

    It's becoming harder to support with actual facts why M'string' is "da evil".
    Well, there's always the "loadsa money" + "Americans"... (for the little communist inside of us)
    Edited by 1 at 23/07/08 @ 09:44

  • bad09 #6 4 years ago

    While I think Live is great and worth paying for on Xbox/360, I didn't really see many PC gamers coughing up for online and it looks like that haven't.

  • Killerbee #7 4 years ago

    Makes sense. I only have two GFWL games (Gears being one) but I've never really been tempted to take advantage of the online stuff precisely because of the charge they levied for it.

    I wonder if this may be a precursor to Xbox Live moving over to a "free" model with charges only for premium content? After all, Sony and Nintendo do that and it works pretty well.

  • sickpuppysoftware #8 4 years ago

    Hands up who paid for GfWL?

    Anyone?

    Bueller?

  • Bitkari #9 4 years ago

    Xbox live will stay as a paid service. There is zero competition on Xbox.

    On the PC there are things like Steam that give everything that Live offers, but for free.

  • aldo_14 #10 4 years ago

    It's becoming harder to support with actual facts why M'string' is "da evil".
    Well, there's always the "loadsa money" + "Americans"... (for the little communist inside of us)

    DirectX11 - Vista only.

    There ya go :)

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #11 4 years ago

    Can't believe no one's said "now make Xbox Live Free!" yet...

  • ZuluHero #12 4 years ago

    does this mean LOTRO will become free? ;)

  • Bitkari #13 4 years ago

    Total hypocricy.

    It's not hypocrisy, it's just the way the system works.

    With consoles, you pay your tithe to the lord. The lord, in turn provides a well-tested, closed environment for you to game in.

    With PC, you're free to do as you please. But it's more anarchic, and there's not the comfort and security that you get with a closed platform.

    What Microsoft are trying to do with GfW is to provde a middle ground: platform support for an open system.

    A GfW title, in theory, should guarantee a certain level of quality and interoperability with other GfW systems (including Live).

    Due to the fact that there are other choices for PC gamers, there is no extra fee to pay (even though they'd love to charge one).

    No hypocrisy here, just the nature of the market for the different platforms.

  • paketep #14 4 years ago

    Microsoft should PAY us for putting us through that piece of shit

  • GamesConnoisseur #15 4 years ago

    Would this mean XBox Live Gold subscription would then be free at some point in future?!

    PC and X360 are both a very different kettle of fish with regards to online gaming, and should have gone free from the get go as would never take off. Most of us saw that! I dont have problem with X360 Live system as we get the service we pay for but I think X360 would compete better if get to be free at the point of service, but MS could still make money from other ways.

    Adverts, DLC, and so on.

    Personally I would prefer not to see adverts.

  • kangarootoo #16 4 years ago

    @Bitkari

    "Xbox live will stay as a paid service. There is zero competition on Xbox."

    I disagree. The competition comes in the form of other platforms. As the PS3 online experience becomes more developed (and perhaps as the Wii sorts its online service out, if that EVER happens), the pressure will increase for MS to make XBL free to play. I am certain we will see the end of paying for XBL play on the 360, I just don't know when exactly.

    I would agree though that cries of hypocrisy are pure nonsense. Its just business. I think some people just see themselves as a charity.

  • Snidesworth #17 4 years ago

    Cool. I might actually take GFWL stuff online now.

  • IneptPercy #18 4 years ago

    I pay for xbox live but never even considered games for windows live, its quite eimple why...

    Xbox live, if an xbox game is online it goes throught live and everything works nicely accross all games.

    PC, support by a few games, does not work accross other games etc... waste of time...

  • Muneeb #19 4 years ago

    Thank god. I was hoping for this time happen. Good move MS!

  • Farzlepot #20 4 years ago

    Games for Windows LIVE never made sense as a premium service. PC gamers have been playing games online, for free (except MMORPGs of course), for decades now - we were never going to start paying for it on Microsoft's says-so. There are better and greater games available on the PC outside of the GfW brand that don't require any sort of fee to play online, and even comparable services in the form of Steam.

    Xbox LIVE is never going to be free, though. Microsoft has no incentive to do so. It's not like there are any other competing services on that platform to steal their business from them - it's their own fudging platform! And I'd imagine that a large number of Xbox 360 owners are able to afford the minimal costs involved to subscribe to Xbox LIVE; what is it, just over three quid per month for an annual membership? People pay more than that to play WoW online for crying out loud. I don't earn a great deal, have other responsibilities and I can still afford that. I wouldn't think it would drive huge swathes of gamers away from the console, but you never know I guess.

  • kangarootoo #21 4 years ago

    @blig_merk

    "But if you are a rabid XBOT, surely they would rather bite their own eyes out than buy a PS3 to play online? ;-) "

    I don't tend to concern myself with rabid fanboys of any type when predicting these things. Despite their loud bleating, they simply don't form a large enough portion of the market to be interested in. The vast majority of gamers out there just want a fun experience, and when they eventually come to buy a current gen platform they will mostly consider the pros and cons of each.

    I say "when they eventually come to buy a current gen platform" because I am not suggesting some form of mass migration here. Free online play is a selling point that will appeal to new purchasers as much as anyone else.

  • kangarootoo #22 4 years ago

    @Farzlepot

    "Microsoft has no incentive to do so"

    Again, I disagree. Their incentive is that the PS3 is free to play online. Why does everyone assume that the only people MS are interested in are existing 360 owners?

    There are also gamers out there who haven't yet made a console decision, AND there are people who own both platforms who might just not bother renewing their Gold membership when they can play for free on their PS3 (me and a few of my friends, for example).

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #23 4 years ago

    Why the hell didn't they announce that at their E3 conference?

    Would this mean XBox Live Gold subscription would then be free at some point in future?

    Only, I think, if they percieve that they are losing market share to Sony because of it. At the moment, Live is still considered superior, but with the growing user base of PS3, that might change. But not before this time next year, I'd say.

  • Farzlepot #24 4 years ago

    "Again, I disagree. Their incentive is that the PS3 is free to play online. Why does everyone assume that the only people MS are interested in are existing 360 owners?

    There are also gamers out there who haven't yet made a console decision, AND there are people who own both platforms who might just not bother renewing their Gold membership when they can play for free on their PS3 (me and a few of my friends, for example)."

    A little over three quid per month is like buying one and a half pints of beer per month, and I buy a lot more beer (and spirits) than that per month. It's a minuscule cost, one that neither myself nor the (few) Xbox 360 owners I know personally even factored in when making their decision.

    Your biggest decision maker when choosing your console is the games themselves and whether or not you enjoy them. If you enjoy playing Resistance online, the Xbox 360 isn't going to be much use to you and the free play is a nice bonus. If you enjoy playing Gears of War online, the PS3 isn't really that tempting, and the £3+ per month fee a minor inconvenience at best. Unless we're talking about a teenager with no allowance to speak of, in which case we have to question where he got the money to buy the game to play online in the first place.

    That's just the way I look at it, though, and why I doubt Microsoft execs probably don't see it as a major barrier. I fully admit to the possibility of being wrong, as you've already demonstrated with your own opinion.

  • skillian #25 4 years ago

    Why do people assume it's only kids that have to worry about costs. Now I have a mortgage/bills/phone etc. I'm more careful with my money than ever before.

    In the same way I've changed my phone plan to save a £5 a month, even Xbox Live costs would need to be factored in to a budget. That's why I'd never pay it.

    If you think Xbox Live costs are meaningless to everyone over the age of 16, you're not living in the real world.

  • kangarootoo #26 4 years ago

    @Farzlepot

    Well firstly, I never suggested that the XBL cost would be the sole determining factor in which console someone chooses to buy, but it is a factor. Although the amount itself is small, it stands out in marketing terms insofar as it is AN amount greater than zero, which is what the PSN costs to use.

    Also, if gamers that own both platforms stop using Live because they don't want to pay even a pittance when they have a free alternative, MS have to take notice of that. They need people to use their online service, its the reason they made the 360 in the first place.

    I'm not making any opf the bold claims you seem to suggest, I am just stating that I believe XBL as a paid for service has a finite life.

  • trixter©ú #27 4 years ago

    Look...it's all about the money....and they obviously didn't get the same response as they'd hoped and so the only way to prevent the service from dying was to make it free. What do you think they'd do if you all stopped paying for live on the 360? Drop the price? Make it free?

    xbox live should be free - you pay enough for the games already...they can just add a buck or two do some decent downloadables....but what do i care because i'm just a ps3 fanboy