The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. This same version is also used with Xbox Series X and Series S. This service, in addition to a Microsoft account, is the account for Xbox consoles; accounts can store games and other content. The service was extended in 2007 on the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, which makes most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. Microsoft has announced plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Live Anywhere initiative. With Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched since late 2010. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010, and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through local area network (LAN) tunneling applications such as XLink Kai. Xbox network service is available as both a free service and a subscription-based service known as Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft rebranded Xbox Live as "Xbox network" in March 2021 to cover all of its services related to Xbox and distinguish the Xbox Live Gold subscription service from these other services. Availability The Xbox network is available in 42 countries. Argentina* Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile* China Colombia* Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Israel Italy Japan Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Russia* Saudi Arabia* Singapore Slovakia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey United Arab Emirates* United Kingdom United States '*' = Country where Xbox Network and Store are officially available, but the Store is in Global currency USD, not in local currency. Users from other countries are not officially supported, although it is possible for them to access Xbox network if they provide an address located in a country where Xbox network is officially available. The country selected during account creation affects the payment options, content, and services available to the user. Previously, users were unable to change