Xbox gamers urged to claim free downloads before they're gone forever

It was the end of an era yesterday as Microsoft officially shut down the Xbox 360 Marketplace just shy of its 20th anniversary.

The loss of the iconic storefront was a sad time for Xbox fans who grew up using it to purchase the latest titles.

Check out the trailer for Halo 3 below!

Plus it also means that hundreds of games are now inaccessible to purchase on the Xbox 360 which perhaps is not surprising considering the console first launched back in 2005.

“Today the Xbox 360 Marketplace shuts down for good, taking hundreds of games and DLC off the market, with no legal way to access them,” the Video Game History Foundation wrote.

“We’re working to fix copyright law for game preservation, but for now, we figured a cake wouldn’t hurt.”

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom as one user over on r/xbox noticed that Xbox 360 users can still access some game extras.

“Extras can still be downloaded/purchased,” they wrote.

“I noticed you can still purchase/download DLC and other items under “extras” as long as you own the game and have it installed on your Xbox 360.”

The screenshot included shows the user accessing some extra content for Halo 3 including a Legendary Map Pack and the Mythic Map Pack.

It has not yet been confirmed if extras will remain accessible on the Xbox 360 but just in case they don’t, it is worth downloading them before they are removed.

Understandably, it wasn’t long before fans speculated as to what else they could still access.

“Some games can still be bought too”, one comment read although we are unsure which games they mean.

However, according to another user, “You might be able to redownload but you can't purchase. I've tried.”

With so many mixed messages, it is worth checking the Xbox 360 extras page out for yourself to see what you can grab at the last minute.