Xbox Live Marketplace Gets A New Name

The Xbox Live Marketplace is getting a new name ahead of the Xbox One launch.

Microsoft has changed the name to Xbox Games Stores, effective immediately.

“That’s right, [Xbox Live Marketplace] is now called the Xbox Games Store, and will sit alongside the Xbox Music Store and Xbox Video Store,” Microsoft told Joystiq.“This is to make it easier for consumers to find content both on Xbox 360 today and Xbox One when it launches in November.”

The Xbox Live Marketplace launched with the Xbox 360 in November 2005.

This isn’t the only change Microsoft has made recently. Earlier this month, the company announced that Microsoft Points would be replaced with local currency in the next Xbox 360 system update. Microsoft first mentioned that it would be moving away from the points system at E3 in June and, on August 9, sent an email to users explaining the change.

“This change was a direct result of customer feedback,” Marc Whitten, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer for Xbox, said in the email. “You told us you want to be able to buy things using money instead of points, and we listened.”

Users will receive an amount “equal to or greater than the Xbox Marketplace value of your Microsoft Points” when they make a purchase or redeem a Points card or code. Xbox Live Rewards will remain on the Xbox Live account, and will also transition to the local currency. The change went into effect Monday.

Staring in “late 2013,” users will be able to buy new Xbox Gift Cards, also in the local currency, through Microsoft online retailers and local retail stores. Microsoft also said that it will continue to accept Microsoft Points cards and codes “until further notice.”

Xbox One consoles will ship with local currency out-of-the box. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch the next-gen console on November 8, exactly one week before Sony’s PlayStation 4.