On November 15, 2002, Xbox Live launched, bringing online capabilities to the original Xbox a year after its release. Now, the service continues to go strong 20 years and four consoles later, and longtime subscribers will receive a badge on their profile to celebrate.
Xbox was the first company to bring online games to the console when Xbox Live launched in 2002, taking advantage of the ethernet port built into the Xbox console. The streaming service grew in popularity following the success of Halo 2, with Xbox Live peaking at around 20 million users in the console’s first generation.
It’s been 20 years since Xbox Live came out and those memories make us feel warm and fuzzy inside
Thank you to the fans and players, old and new, for sticking with us all this time!
– Xbox (@Xbox) November 15, 2022
Technical Xbox Live now go by another name, with “Xbox network” intended as a generic term for all of the company’s online services, including Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold. Just prior to this rebranding, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live surpassed 100 million monthly active users following the release of Series X|S.
Despite the official rebranding, most fans still refer to the service as Xbox Live, and that hasn’t stopped Xbox from celebrating its 20th anniversary. As announced on Twitter by Xbox’s Major Nelson, longtime users of the platform will be rewarded with a shiny 20 year badge for their profile.
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