The Xbox Games with Gold program has come a long way since first being introduced in 2013 to provide free monthly games to Gold subscribers. From the early glory days that put even Sony‘s PS Plus lineups to shame, to being a nominal incentive in 2022, Games with Gold faces an existential crisis in relevance thanks to the runaway success of Xbox Game Pass.
October 2022 cements this crisis by dropping Xbox 360 game offerings after nearly a decade. The implication is clear – Games with Gold is now on life support, overshadowed by Game Pass. Let‘s analyze what this all means for you as an Xbox gamer.
The Long Decline of Games with Gold
First, some history – Xbox Live launched way back in 2002 on the original Xbox, eventually requiring a paid subscription called Xbox Live Gold for online play as well as other benefits. With the Xbox 360 launch, this Gold subscription peaked at 30 million members by 2013.
To add value to the $10 monthly or $60 yearly fee, Microsoft launched the Games with Gold program. For nearly a decade, this offered Gold subscribers four complimentary games every month – two each for Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms. Analysis shows that in its heyday, annual total retail value neared or crossed $1000.
| Year | No. of Games | Retail Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 48 | $970 |
| 2015 | 53 | $962 |
| 2016 | 49 | $804 |
But fast forward to 2022, and Games with Gold seems frozen in time while industry revolution happens all around it. Let‘s see how the picture has changed:
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Game Pass Explosion: Launched in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has grown meteorically crossing 25 million subscribers in early 2022 driven by day one access to first party games and major third party titles. Game Pass Ultimate bundles together Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Live Gold access for around $15 per month providing immense value.
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PlayStation Steps Up: Sony supercharged its PS Plus service in June 2022, merging it with PS Now cloud gaming to offer up to 700 downloadable games across tiers in an aggressive response to Game Pass. The revamped highest PlayStation Plus Premium tier at $18 monthly clearly beats Games with Gold in sheer breadth of retro catalog.
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Games with Gold Decline: After peaking around 2016, Games with Gold saw a noticeable dip in quality and appeal by the early 2020s based on review analysis and fan sentiment. By mid-2022, reports confirmed Microsoft‘s decision to cut the Xbox 360 games from the monthly offers starting October 2022.
Quantifying the October 2022 Games with Gold Reality
So here we stand in October 2022 with only 2 games on offer via Games with Gold, down from 4 per month previously. Adding insult to injury, a comparison against competing services shows the glaring disparity in value below:
| Platform | Subscription | Monthly Games | Annual Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox | Games with Gold | 2 | $40 |
| PlayStation | PS Plus Extra | 400+ | $240+ |
| PlayStation | PS Plus Premium | 700+ | $420+$ |
Considering Games with Gold launched years before either PlayStation Plus iteration, and commanded superior value in its initial years, this reversal of fortunes signals an expired program on its last legs.
The two Xbox One games offered this month perfectly demonstrate the diminished status quo:
Windbound – Flawed Survival Crafting
- Developed by: 5 Lives Studios
- Release: 2020
- Reviews: 60% on OpenCritic
This first person survival adventure strands you on procedurally generated islands filled with wildlife, ruins and shipwrecks to explore. Battling hunger, thirst and the elements, you have to forage, hunt and craft tools to stay alive while sailing between islands to uncover secrets behind mystical elders.
Reviewers found the crafting systems too cumbersome and restrictive with barely any narrative payoff for 30 hours of survival grinding. Visually impressive locales couldn‘t save the game from repetitive dice-roll combat and barely any customization of playstyles. At $29.99 launch price, this mid-tier survival title has already been discounted often. Landing as a Games with Gold highlight does it no favors.
Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition – Niche Management Sim
- Developed by: Runner Duck
- Release: 2017 (Deluxe: 2021)
- Reviews: 90% on Steam
This strategic WW2 aircrew management sim puts you in the commander‘s shoes with responsibility of building, managing, and taking a Lancaster Bomber squadron through dangerous sorties to strategically target Axis territories.
The Deluxe version includes quality-of-life updates, new campaigns, an extra US bomber squad and cosmetics. But at its core, the high difficulty management simulation remains niche. Permadeath heightens tension but can frustrate casual players. Still, armchair commanders might relish the challenging progression.
At $24.99 currently however, the base game has often been bundled and given away free on other services – so releasing a 4 year old game iteration as a monthly highlight shows how Games with Gold has lowered the bar.
Game Pass Continues to Soar with Blockbusters
- Scorn (Oct 14): Nightmarish atmospheric horror launching day one into Game Pass
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Oct 18): Sequel to critically acclaimed narrative adventure
- Persona 5 Royal (Oct 21): Definitive edition of JRPG phenomenon finally on Xbox
This tiny sample of just 3 names illustrates the stark difference in Game Pass‘ October lineup compared to Games with Gold. Top tier indies like Norco, Signalis and quality remasters highlight depth of catalog. Cloud enabled touch controls expand play options further.
Simply put, Game Pass provides 100+ games accessible across devices and generations with Ubisoft+ Classics adding another 50+. New announcements bolster 2023‘s upcoming day one launch slate making subscriptions extremely future proofed. Xbox Live Gold however only gates multiplayer access and provides diminishing monthly freebies.
Time to Move On from Games with Gold?
We‘ve quantified numerous data points around growth metrics, title counts across subscriptions, review analysis as well as historical context. All evidence and industry reports resoundingly suggest that Xbox Games with Gold is now an afterthought with negligible relevance to most gamers.
- The era of Xbox 360 is now a remnant as focus moves to current and next generation experiences
- Game Pass and PlayStation Plus hugely outclass Games with Gold in breadth, quality and consistent value
- Existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers now left with just 1 year of guaranteed repeating last-gen indies
- Most Xbox gamers already access Game Pass Ultimate bundles, further reducing standalone Gold subs
The final nail hammered twice over – existing Gold subscribers can upgrade to Game Pass Ultimate without losing any pre-paid months. And all Xbox first party games launch day one only on Ultimate. Considering Halo and Starfield‘s exclusion from Games with Gold, the message is pretty clear.
So while Games with Gold limps on with token updates after a decade, industry progression has made its obsolescence all but guaranteed in near future. My advice? Take advantage of the remaining 12 months of guaranteed Gold by upgrading to Ultimate. It opens a treasure trove of thousands of games playable across devices with new favorites added monthly rather than yearly.
Let me know your thoughts! Do you still see value in Games with Gold after all these changes? Should Microsoft just retire it already and sweeten Ultimate even further? Looking forward to discussing perspectives with you all!
