Well, we're now officially less than a month away from Xbox Live Gold going away for good. That's right, come September 14th the service is being folded into a new tier of Xbox Game Pass, meaning we'll all be saying goodbye to Xbox Live next month.
Of course, the main function of Xbox Live will still be a thing - online gaming is absolutely huge these days and we can't see that focus shifting anytime soon. Yet, the branding around 'Xbox Live' and all the memories attached to that will be affected by the transition.
And that's got us thinking about our top Xbox Live memories. This writer wasn't introduced to the service until the Xbox 360 days, but I still have memories of unwrapping that shiny copy of Gears of War and hopping online for the first time.
Also, just navigating the dashboard of that era is so nostalgic to us. It was an alien concept at the time to have this broad online platform where all of our mates just hung out, socialised and played games together. Remember, this was before most people touched social media in any meaningful way, so Xbox Live really was an introduction to connecting with friends over the internet for millions of us.
Another lasting memory I have is playing Project Gotham Racing 4 online with my friends back then - particularly the 'Bulldog' game mode that felt so different for a track racer. Bulldog was effectively a big game of car tag, and many, many weeknights were spent chasing my pals around the virtual streets of PGR4's city tracks.
Having ranted and raved about all of that, what are some of your lasting Xbox Live memories? Were you there on day one with the original Xbox, or do you have a more modern XBL memory that stands out?