Do you need Xbox Live to play Warzone online?


Warzone is pitched as a free-to-play Call of Duty experience, but how free is it to play? If you're on an Xbox One or an Xbox Series X|S, you might be wondering if you need an active Xbox Live subscription to play Warzone online.

We have everything you need to know...

Do you need Xbox Live to play Warzone online?

Initially, you did need an active Xbox Live membership to play Warzone online. However, Microsoft has endeavoured to remove this and join PlayStation in offering free-to-play games on their platforms without the need for any additional payments.

Microsoft's announcement that Free-to-Play games on Xbox consoles won't need an active Xbox Live Gold or Game Pass Ultimate subscription to play means that you won't need an active Xbox Live membership to play Warzone online. This is a fairly recent development and you can see the announcement below:

This is, of course, a fantastic step in the right direction. You will need the console to play Warzone on, of course, but beyond that, you should find that Warzone is free-to-play.

Warzone Xbox Live Airport Tower Helicopter
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You Do Need An Xbox Account Either Way

There is one more step to all this though - you still need an Xbox Live Account. Thankfully, this is not the end of the world and the console itself prompts users to make/add a Microsoft account to the console when you don't have one available.

Warzone Xbox Live Ghost Operator
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Why do you need one though?

Well, in order to "Purchase" and download Warzone you need to add it to your account's library.

READ MORE: Do You Need PS Plus To Play Warzone?

Warzone is an exclusively online title and you'll still need to have an Xbox Live account even without an active subscription.

If you don't have a Microsoft/Xbox account, you can Create An Account here.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Call of Duty and More page.