Xbox Live drops the paywall and adds a bevy of entertainment apps

Microsoft announced today that it will add more than forty new apps for services like HBO Go, Comedy Central and Vine to Xbox Live in a bid to bolster the non-game entertainment options for Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners. The company is also rolling out an update to Xbox Live this month that will eliminate the Xbox Live Gold membership requirement to use Xbox apps like Netflix, Internet Explorer and Twitch. The company announced plans to do so back in May, alongside its plans to start selling a Kinect-less Xbox One console next week. Microsoft is moving to capitalize on our predilection for taking to Twitter during commercial breaks by augmenting its extant Xbox One U.S. Twitter app to work with the console's TV-centric features. Soon the Xbox One's OneGuide app will highlight what shows people are watching and tweeting about, as well as displaying Twitter updates related to the TV show you're watching as you're watching it. The new entertainment apps, including the TV-optimized Twitter app, are expected to be globally available on Xbox Live "by the end of this holiday season."