Why do have to have gold to play a Lan game with my children?

Hello, and thanks for getting in touch. I'm Aileen, and I'm here to provide you with advice as an independent advisor.

I hear you completely. Wanting to play games you already own on a local network, with no internet or outside servers involved, shouldn’t require a subscription. It feels unnecessary, especially when you're just trying to enjoy time with your kids.

Here’s what’s actually happening:

Why does it require Gold or Game Pass

Even for LAN-style play between two consoles in the same house, most Xbox games still rely on Xbox Live's multiplayer structure. That means:

Your consoles still check in with Xbox Live to authorize multiplayer access

Even if the gameplay traffic doesn’t go over the internet, access still depends on having an active subscription

That’s why you’re seeing the multiplayer block, even though it’s all happening under your roof.

Workarounds to consider

Set one console to offline mode

Some older games allow local multiplayer with no internet at all. You can try switching one console to offline mode and using a local profile. But this only works on select titles, usually from the Xbox 360 era or those that support true offline LAN.

Use Home Xbox sharing

You can share one subscription across multiple profiles using the Home Xbox setting. Set your main console as the Home Xbox, and your kids can access your Game Pass or Gold benefits from their accounts.

To do this, go to Settings, then General, then Personalization, then My Home Xbox. You can only change this a few times per year.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance. Looking forward to your response.

Hi there,

We appreciate you reaching out to us with this issue. Playing multiplayer games on Xbox Live requires a Gold subscription. You would need to purchase one before you would be able to continue playing online. If you were sharing Xbox Live Gold status with
someone else on your console, this means they have revoked access.

Thank you, but the game I am trying to play is local LAN. Is that possible, or do I still need Gold to play on LAN or with others in my house?

Thank you.

Thank you for that update. If you're using a console to use online services (LAN still pings off the servers), you would need to have Gold to do this.

Why not? Kids who don't remember LAN parties are probably too young to have mortgages, wives or children, competing for their unwind time. Those of us who get away from the grind for a weekend, really enjoy uninterrupted LAN parties.

Is LAN a threat to Live? Not likely. After LAN players still take the games home to play alone later.

Does EA really need to know who plays and when? Maybe that information could be sent via host partyleader, rather than every individual player requiring a connection and Live account logged in.

If LANners want a game, they check the back of the cover for system link compatible. COD has it = bang ten copies sold straight up. Battlefield doesn't = one copy sold, then bitched about at the LAN party.

Hi there,

We appreciate you reaching out to us with this issue. Playing multiplayer games on Xbox Live requires a Gold subscription. You would need to purchase one before you would be able to continue playing online. If you were sharing Xbox Live Gold status with
someone else on your console, this means they have revoked access.

Thank you, but the game I am trying to play is local LAN. Is that possible, or do I still need Gold to play on LAN or with others in my house?

Thank you.

I have a Gold Xbox live account and have created profiles for my wife and two boys. They can play all of the games I have downloaded to my Xbox.

You can either purchase a family Xbox Live Gold account or get them the free Silver accounts. I do recommend investigating the settings for your children. I have it set so they cannot play online.