Xbox Just Revealed the Very Last Games With Gold Releases

Oliver Brandt
·2 min read
2

Last week, Microsoft announced that the last vestige of Xbox Live, Xbox Live Gold, would soon be shutting down. With it goes the monthly games that came with the service, Games With Gold, which gave subscribers two games at no extra cost every month for the last 15 years.

Xbox Live Gold was first introduced alongside the Xbox 360 in 2005, and was a mandatory subscription for anyone who wanted to play games online. As a trade-off for the suddenly higher cost of entry for online gaming, Microsoft instituted Games With Gold. It wasn’t a perfect substitution, but who can complain about bonus games?

With the introduction of Xbox Game Pass though, things changed. Having access to an evolving, growing library of games across both Xbox and PC was a tantalizing aspect, something that’s become even more enticing in the years since, with hundreds of games available for as little as $10 a month. Sure, some games get taken off the service every month, but they’re always replaced by even more games, some of which are brand-new games from both internal and external developers.

Xbox Game Pass has been a huge hit on Xbox Series X and S consoles. <p>Microsoft</p>
Xbox Game Pass has been a huge hit on Xbox Series X and S consoles.

Microsoft

That’s probably why Microsoft decided to sunset Xbox Live Gold with a new tier of Game Pass called Xbox Game Pass Core. It comes with most of the same benefits as XBL Gold – access to online multiplayer and extra discounts on the Xbox Store – but also includes a smaller library of Game Pass games, about 25, although Microsoft says this will grow with time.

With the Games With Gold set to end on September 1, there’s one batch of games left to be released for August — the last ever Games With Gold drop. The games included this one last time are Blue Fire, a wonderful little platformer from ROBI Studios and Graffiti Games, and Inertial Drift, an indie arcade racer with a heavy focus on drifting.

These aren’t the biggest games on the planet – they’re certainly no GTA 5 on Game Pass – but they are at least good games that should be experienced by everybody. And as the last ever Games With Gold drop, it’s nice to see Microsoft shining a spotlight on a couple of indie gems.

Blue Fire and Inertial Drift will be available to Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers from August 1, 2023 to August 31, 2023.