We're still a handful of months away from the imminent launch of the Xbox One, and Microsoft is still making tweaks to the hardware and what comes in the box. After yesterday's news that the Xbox One now includes a headset in every retail box, today Microsoft has detailed how the remnants of their nixed Family Sharing plan, Home Gold and digital game sharing, will work.
Xbox LIVE Gold subscriptions will now be tied to the Gamertag subscribing, and that Gamertag's main Xbox One console. This way, everyone playing that main Xbox One console, even other Gamertags logged in, will have access to Xbox LIVE Gold feature. This is what Microsoft is calling 'Home Gold'.
Extending beyond the main console at home, the Gamertag subscribed to Xbox LIVE Gold may also log into their Gamertag on other consoles—say, at a friend's house—and have access to online multiplayer, "entertainment" apps, and other Xbox LIVE Gold features.
Digital games sharing works in a similar manner, with any games purchased on the main console being available to everyone accessing it. Similarly, if at a friends house, logging into a Gamertag would allow access to these same digital games. Furthermore, you may also purchase games at this friends house using your Gamertag, and it would make the game purchased instantly available back at the main Xbox One console.
Microsoft also reiterated that if you already subscribe to Xbox LIVE Gold on your Xbox 360, it seemlessly transfers over to the Xbox One. However, Home Gold and digital games sharing is only available on the Xbox One.
It's clear that Microsoft is doing a lot right after some unfortunate mishaps early after the Xbox One's initial reveal and coming out of E3. The latest information shows they do have many policies in place that are beneficial for gamers, especially those that want to share content with family and friends.
