Why do I need "Xbox Game Pass Core" for friends to join my Xbox through LAN?

I have a PC and an Xbox. Before the Minecraft "Spring to Life" update (Bedrock 1.21.70, hotfix 1.21.71), I played with friends on my Xbox (because my Xbox is beefy and my computer is not) locally (same network/wifi) with them joining the Xbox through their computers (no, don't suggest split-screen; I hate split-screen). Now the "Multiplayer Game" and "Visible to LAN Players" toggles are disabled and un-interactable, and it redirects me to change the "Players from other platforms can join you" button in the settings, which does not exist in the Minecraft settings in-game or on the main screen. I assumed that it meant Xbox profile settings. Although my Xbox profile settings are all set to "allow" in the multiplayer category.

Which leads me to believe that, now, in order to play any multiplayer genre, you need Game Pass Core, which is stupid expensive considering that I can play LAN multiplayer for free on my PC. Why is Game Pass even a thing? I spent $600 to buy my Xbox, and now I need to pay to play multiplayer on my network for a game that I paid for? Fine, I will pay for multiplayer, but why does it include a bunch of junk games? To jack up the price and have it be disguised?

It is just disheartening, and I am sure that I am not the only one who thinks that way. If anything, wouldn't that just discourage people even more from buying an Xbox? I do not want to rant, and I cannot summarize this without dropping vital information.

Can anyone tell me if I have uncovered something, wasted my time, or embarrassed myself because it is just a bug in Minecraft? Maybe I should have reported this on the bug tracker?





:)