Shortly before the start of the confrontation with Apple, the head of Epic Games asked Microsoft to make multiplayer on Xbox consoles free. He sent a letter with this idea to Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox.
In a letter, Tim Sweeney asked to coincide the cancellation of Xbox Live Gold with August 27, 2020 — the day when the 14th season of Fortnite starts.
Sweeney also hinted that Epic Games has “certain plans for August, which provide an exceptional opportunity to emphasize the value of offers for consoles and PCs, as opposed to mobile platforms, and attract new console users.” Probably, it was about the upcoming changes in the mobile version of Fortnite, after which the conflict with Apple began.
In a reply letter, Spencer partially supported such a proposal, but with a note that right now Microsoft is not ready to abandon paid multiplayer.