After what seems like years of promises, Microsoft announced today that Xbox Live will be officially launching in the UAE and KSA on October 23rd, 2012.

“With the launch of Xbox LIVE in both the UAE and KSA, we’re able to offer Xbox 360 fans a premiere on-demand content offering that’s entirely new to the Middle East,” commented Aman Sangar, Interactive Entertainment Business Category Lead MEA, Microsoft. “This is only the beginning as we will continue to roll out more service. It marks another step toward our vision for LIVE – to deliver innovative entertainment experiences and exciting new ways to keep in touch with people you care about, wherever they are around the world.”

The Xbox LIVE Free service provides access to thousands of Arcade and Games on Demand titles via Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It lets players text and talk with friends, and pin favourite dashboard content they’d like to access later.

In addition to free benefits, an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription brings a new wave of fun to the living room. With LIVE multiplayer gaming, gamers can play with friends over Xbox LIVE, chat in-game, participate in matchmaking and benefit from other exclusive offers. They have early access to content such as demos and Game Add-Ons, and can browse the web with Internet Explorer. Subscribers can also save up to 500 MB of in-progress games on the cloud to pick up playing a game from any console on the network, and invite friends to an Xbox Party, allowing them to communicate online with up to seven people while doing other fun activities like browsing through a photo album.

Soon, LIVE members will also be able to use Windows 8-based devices as a second screen with an Xbox 360 for an enhanced game experience with Xbox SmartGlass. With simple flicks on a phone or tablet, Xbox SmartGlass helps to control and interact with favourite games.

Xbox LIVE Free will be available free of charge starting October 23. A 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription will be available for AED 210. In addition, for a limited time only, Xbox is offering a 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription for free with the purchase of a Cisco EA4500 router for AED 899.

