Major Nelson has confirmed that from Nov. 1, Microsoft will raise the Xbox Live U.S. price of a 1-month subscription to $9.99 (from $7.99), a 3-month subscription to $24.99 (from $19.99) and a 12-months subscription to $59.99 (from $49.99).

This means consumers will be paying 20 - 25% more for the subscriptions, depending on the length. Here are few reasons, why the cost is increasing:

A Microsoft spokesman justified the price increases by pointing to new content and services the company has added to Xbox Live over the past few years, including Facebook, Twitter, the Last.fm radio service and, in the fall, live and recorded sports events from ESPN.