Microsoft have announced that they are introducing a number of new perks for Xbox players - particularly if you have an Xbox Live Gold membership.
The tech giant delivered the news to their players last night, with the changes officially coming into effect at midnight.
Effective 21 April, all Xbox players can access online multiplayer at no charge for a library of over 50 free-to-play games , as well as free game demos and betas that support online multiplayer.
And in order to make it easier for everyone to find and connect with fellow gamers, Microsoft have also unlocked two other Xbox Live Gold features for all Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles.
Looking for Group is a “players wanted” bulletin board—a way to help you find players in the Xbox community with similar goals and interests.
Gamers can browse posts created by the Xbox community and respond to those that appeal to you. Alternatively they can try creating their own post—when enough people are interested and respond, you have the option to gather them into your party and go play.
There's also now the option to Party - you can invite your friends to an Xbox party to chat while you play a game or watch a show on your Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One console. To start a party, either you or someone on the Xbox console you’re using must have an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
There is a rich library of over 50 free-to-play games you can download and play with all your friends, regardless of their membership as a result of these changes.
You have the world's most popular shooter game at the moment, Call of Duty Warzone, with It Takes Two, Rocket League and Fortnite among the wide selection available at time of writing.
This change happens automatically. Additional details about this change can be found here .
