The Xbox network, formerly branded as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original Xbox console on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. This same version is also used with Xbox Series X and Series S. This service, in addition to a Microsoft account, is the account for Xbox ecosystem; accounts can store games and other content.
The service was extended in 2007 across the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, now defunct, which made most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. The Xbox app is now used to cross over the Xbox ecosystem into PC gaming, in addition to handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Play Anywhere initiative. Microsoft's former mobile operating system, Windows Phone, included full Xbox Live functionality until it was discontinued. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010, and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through local area network (LAN) tunneling applications such as XLink Kai.
Xbox network service is available as both a free service and a subscription-based service known as Xbox Game Pass Core. In 2021, Microsoft renamed Xbox Live as simply the "Xbox network" to cover all of its services related to Xbox, and began slowly phasing out all "Live" branding until it was fully removed in 2023.
The Xbox network is available in 42 countries.
Argentina*
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile*
China
Colombia*
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia*
Saudi Arabia*
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Turkey
United Arab Emirates*
United Kingdom
United States
'*' = Country where Xbox Network and Store are officially available, but the Store is in Global currency USD, not in local currency.