Netflix and other apps finally knock down Xbox Live's Gold paywall

Xbox One
That dashboard may seem even more dashing come June

Update: Microsoft has confirmed that it will indeed be making a number of popular entertainment apps accessible without an Xbox Live Gold account, starting this June.

You can see a fuill list of the apps that will be available here

Original story below...

In one of the most pleasing Xbox rumours from mill this year, it's claimed that gamers will soon be able to access apps like Netflix and Hulu without the requirement of an Xbox Live Gold account.

Sources speaking to ArsTechnica state that Microsoft is preparing to announce that Xbox One and Xbox 360 will no longer need to pay the monthly subscription to enjoy these services.

The company will, according to the report, make the big announcement at E3 in June. However other apps will allegedly be put behind the Gold paywall. We expect the upcoming Xbox Originals TV show could well be one of them.

Microsoft told TechRadar that it had no comment on the matter.

Bring down the wall

About time, really. It seems absurd that we have currently have to pay extra to access an app that we're already shelling out for - especially as neither Sony nor Nintendo demand the 'double dip'.

We've asked Microsoft for an official comment on the matter and will update when we hear more.

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Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.