Xbox Games with Gold ending Xbox 360 support because it’s run out of games-Michael Beckwith-Entertainment – Metro

It’s been claimed in the past that Microsoft wants to discontinue Xbox Live Gold in favour of Game Pass (pic: Microsoft)

Microsoft is paring its Xbox Live Gold service back by no longer offering free Xbox 360 games every month.

If you’re signed up to Xbox Live Gold, you’ve likely already received an email regarding a major change coming to the service. One that says that it will no longer be giving away free Xbox 360 games.

For the uninitiated, Xbox Live Gold includes Games with Gold, where you can download four select Xbox One and Xbox 360 games a month (two for each console).

As of October, however, Microsoft will be paring it back to just Xbox One games.

Microsoft’s email to customers says that this is because the company has reached the limits of adding new Xbox 360 games to the service, suggesting that it’s simply run out of games it can offer.

It also clarifies that any Xbox 360 games redeemed through Games with Gold are yours to keep, even if your subscription ends, and can be redownloaded if needs be.

While you’ll still receive free Xbox One games every month, Microsoft hasn’t said if it will bump up the monthly offerings to four free Xbox One games, to make up for the change, or if it will remain at two games a month.

Although it probably won’t happen any time soon, Microsoft is now one step closer to discontinuing Xbox Live Gold altogether.

There were rumblings of this happening back in 2020 and while Microsoft later said that it had no plans to do so, Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb claimed afterwards that it is absolutely on the cards.

He couldn’t say when it would happen, since Microsoft is apparently waiting until it has more Xbox Game Pass subscribers – estimating that it would need 40 to 50 million subscribers before Microsoft starts winding Xbox Live Gold down.

More: Gaming

At the moment, while Xbox Live Gold is a separate service that provides access to online multiplayer, it comes bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions.

It’s possible that Microsoft will do what Sony did with its PlayStation Now service and simply remove the Xbox Live Gold name and branding while permanently rolling its benefits into Xbox Game Pass.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Xbox & Bethesda Showcase trailer round-up – Silksong, Overwatch 2, Diablo 4, and more

MORE : Xbox says console supply chain will ‘remain rocky’ for 2022

MORE : Giant Xbox Series X sets world record – upstages the Xbox fridge

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Entertainment – MetroRead More