Xbox Drops Surprise Free Game You Don't Need Game Pass For

Xbox has dropped a free game to play this week, and you don’t even need Game Pass to enjoy it.

The Microsoft subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, is rightly dubbed by many as “Netflix for games”. Especially when it comes to the Ultimate tier, you can play hundreds of games in an instant, as well as take advantage of a whole host of additional perks.

Another bonus of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is that it includes first-party Xbox games at launch, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the upcoming Gears of War: Reloaded at no extra cost.

All in all, Xbox Game Pass is a great way to save money, because a single monthly subscription fee alone is far cheaper than a newly released AAA game.

However, sometimes it’s nice to play a game on a budget without having to subscribe to the likes of Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, such as this promotion that is available this weekend.

Microsoft is running its latest ‘Free Play Days’ promotion, and during this weekend, you’ll have full access to The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing, Survival: Fountain of Youth and Star Overdrive.

Yet, The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing and Survival: Fountain of Youth are only available for those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core.

Yet, Star Overdrive is available to everyone, even without an Xbox Game Pass subscription. The promotion ends on Sunday, 17 August, and if you decide to make the full purchase for either of these three games, achievements and save data will carry over.

“Star Overdrive is a high-speed action adventure set in an open world,” reads the synopsis of the game.

“Race across an alien planet on your hoverboard, mastering tricks, battling enemies, solving puzzles, and using your powers to overcome challenges and shape your destiny!”

On the aggregate website, Metacritic, Star Overdrive currently has a user score of 8.2, and on Steam, it’s rated as “Very Positive”, both of which imply that this should be a fun game to play.

Star Overdrive is out now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.