Microsoft halts sale of 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions

Microsoft has halted the sale of 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, meaning it'll now only be possible to purchase the yearly subscription option from third party retailers.

The company confirmed the news to TrueAchievements, which initially reported the story, but didn't specify why the 12 month option had been pulled. 

"At this time, Xbox has decided to remove the 12 months Xbox Live Gold SKU from the Microsoft Online Store," said the console maker. "Customers can still sign up for a one month or three month Xbox Live Gold subscription online through the Microsoft Store."

There's some speculation that Microsoft has nixed the annual plan to funnel more people towards Game Pass Ultimate, which currently includes Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass -- but will also feature game streaming via Project xCloud as of September 2020. 

The news comes less than a week after Microsoft confirmed it would be ending production of the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition so it could "ramp into the future with Xbox Series X."