• News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Threads
Submit Your Content
Xbox users aren't even bothering with new free games, believe shutdown is imminent
Home>News
Updated 14:19 3 Jul 2023 GMT+1Published 14:18 3 Jul 2023 GMT+1

Xbox users aren't even bothering with new free games, believe shutdown is imminent

Xbox users have been criticising the free games offered on Xbox Games with Gold, and believe that the service could soon be shut down.

Catherine Lewis

Catherine Lewis

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: Billy Freeman via Unsplash, Kamil S via Unsplash

Topics: Xbox, Microsoft

Advert

Advert

Advert

If you pay for any gaming subscription service, I’m almost certain that, like me, you’ll have determined that it’s basically impossible to stay on top of your backlog. If the year’s new releases weren’t enough, we’re constantly being spoiled for choice with freebies.

Sony recently announced July’s PlayStation Plus free games, and it’s a phenomenal month. From tomorrow (4 July), subscribers can claim Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Alan Wake Remastered and Endling - Extinction is Forever at no extra cost. Not only is that a brilliant, varied selection, but they’ll take over 100 hours to play to completion, giving gamers plenty of bang for their buck.

Take a look at the trailer for Alan Wake Remastered below.

Advert

Meanwhile though, Xbox users aren’t happy at all with the current state of Games with Gold - the monthly free game service that’s offered as a perk of subscribing to Xbox Live Gold. If users aren’t subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate, they’re required to pay for Xbox Live Gold in order to play online, so it’s a service that most would be paying for anyway - with or without the free games. With that said, fans believe that the freebies have been going downhill in a major way lately.

“Games with Gold sucks now. It’s sucked for a while now, at least a year,” Reddit user androidtic_mammal wrote. “The games we get are all C tier games at best, good for a hour or two of fun at most. The games they are getting on PlayStation these days are 10 times better, for example they get Alan Wake Remastered this month. It was better when we got backwards compatible games. What the hell is going on Microsoft?”

Others believe that this could even be the beginning of the end for the service: “I really don’t care about GWG anymore. I am thankful for every [Xbox] 360 game I [got] for free over the years. And they are really free, even without subscription I can play them whenever I want. I also think GWG will be getting shut down in one or two years,” Away-Trainer101 commented. “Yeah I agree, seems it is being sundowned. But it sucks for everyone who missed the GWG original/360 games, even if they repeated some of the classic games on the service, it would be better than what we have now,” androidtic_mammal replied.

If you’re still keeping up with the Games with Gold free games, fear not - Microsoft hasn’t said anything to imply that the service is on its way out. In case you've not claimed it already, don't forget to grab the unique audio-based game, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, before it disappears from the service later this month.

  • Xbox 360 Returns In New Free Download For PC Users
  • Xbox Drops 10 Free Games This Weekend, Limited Time Only
  • Xbox Game Pass 2026 Free Game Is A 'Perfect' New Addition
  • Xbox Fans Happy For Helix Delays As New-Gen Console Nowhere To Be Seen At 2026 Showcase

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • Valve/Darian Verduzco/Disarmed Games
    an hour ago

    Steam Drops 4 Free Games That Are Yours To Keep, Includes 9/10 FPS

    Claim these games for keeps!

    News
  • GOALS
    3 hours ago

    Steam Gains Free New Football Game Set To Rival FIFA And EA Sports

    They think it's all over, it is now

    News
  • Saber Interactive
    5 hours ago

    Jurassic Park: Survival Gets Much-Needed Update As Players Fear The Worst

    "Ah ah ah! You didn't say the magic word!"

    News
  • Karwai Tang/WireImage
    5 hours ago

    Anthony Head, Star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dies Aged 72

    Anthony Head recently appeared in Ted Lasso

    News

    breaking news