Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 games will be leaving the Games with Gold program as of October.
Launched in July 2013, Games with Gold was a program where digital downloads of games were offered to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Xbox owners would have to have an active Xbox Live Gold paid subscription in order to play games online. Included in this fee was the Games with Gold program. To rival PlayStation’s PS Plus, Games with Gold offered monthly Xbox 360 games. Xbox One games were added to the program in 2014.
This week, Microsoft announced in an email to subscribers that Xbox 360 games will no longer be part of the service as of October of this year.
“We have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalogue”, the email reads. “-however, Games with Gold will continue to include Xbox One titles and exclusive savings each month.”
YOUR EXISTING XBOX 360 DOWNLOADS WILL BE SAFE
If you’ve already claimed past Xbox 360 games via Games with Gold, those will be safe to download so long as you still have an active subscription. Even after October, those games will stay within your library to be downloaded and played as you see fit. Xbox One games will still be offered as part of the service on a monthly basis.
DOES GOLD WITH GAMES HAVE A FUTURE?
With the ongoing successes of Xbox’s Game Pass, it’s surprising that Games with Gold still exists all these years later. I assumed the service had stopped entirely but it’s going to continue, just without Xbox 360 games as of October.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft one day decided to do away with the program altogether.
But as of now, if you use the service, there are two Xbox 360 games to claim this month via Games with Gold.
The following games are available on Games with Gold this July:
- Beasts of Maravilla Island Available July 1 to 31
- Relicta Available July 16 to August 15
- Thrillville: Off the Rails Available July 16 to July 31
- Torchlight Avaialble July 16 to 31
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft/Xbox Source: news. xbox.com
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