Games with Gold is shifting away from Xbox 360 titles starting in October

Microsoft says it has “reached the limit”

It’s hard for Games with Gold to stand out in this giveaway-heavy climate, especially with so many players fixated on Xbox Game Pass, where the catalog runs deep and feels pretty consistently fresh. Today, Microsoft gave a heads-up about an upcoming change: starting in October 2022, the monthly “free” game lineups will no longer feature Xbox 360 titles.

The team explained the change in an email to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and it makes sense — but I’ve still got questions.

“We have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalog; however, Games with Gold will continue to include exciting Xbox One titles and exclusive savings each month,” the company said in an email. “This will not impact any Xbox 360 games that you downloaded before October 2022.”

“Any Xbox 360 titles that you redeem via Games with Gold before that time are yours to keep on your Xbox account, regardless of whether you continue your subscription. Thank you for being a loyal member.”

So, we’ve got a few more months of business as usual with a pair of featured Xbox One and Xbox 360 games for subscribers to claim and keep. For reference, the sleepy selections for July — Beasts of Maravilla Island, Relicta, Thrillville: Off the Rails, and Torchlight — are a good indicator of where things are at with Games with Gold.

I’m curious to see how they might offset this change in October — will subscribers get more than two Xbox One games each month? Or is a quality-over-quantity approach a better choice? We’ve been through downgrades before with, say, PlayStation Plus.

Games with Gold can feel like a relic, and I have to wonder how much longer it’ll last before it’s refocused or fully sunsetted. With today’s news, that timeline feels closer.