In the beginning,Xbox Livewas one of the major selling points of Xbox consoles. The original Xbox stands as one of the pioneers of the current online gaming landscape, as online capability is standard across all consoles. As the years progressed and newer generations of consoles were released, competitors arrived in the likes of PSN, however, Xbox Live was still the premier online subscription. The cost of an online subscription went to good use with the Xbox Live servers proving to be miles ahead of the free alternative, PSN. This was evidenced during the notorious month-long PSN outage of 2011, during which the stability of Xbox Live was heavily praised.
Games with Gold was the icing on the cake for Xbox fans when it arrived in 2013, with fans excited by the prospect of being gifted free games every month at no extra cost. This initiative kicked off with a bang, with a number of huge titles from fan-favorite franchises making an appearance early on. However, as time has progressed, the relevance of Games with Gold’s free titles on offer has begun to drop off for fans. At this stage, PS Plus has very much overtaken Games with Gold, last month offeringBattlefield 5, and June bringingStar Wars: Squadronsto PS Plus. It doesn’t appear Games with Gold is falling behind by accident, it’s more down to a shift in focus.
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June 2021’s Games With Gold
June’s Games with Gold lineupincludes two fairly recent titles inThe King’s BirdandShadows: Awakening, as well as two Xbox 360 titles inNeoGeo Battle Coliseumand the originalInjusticegame. While each title is worth playing in its own right, none come close to standing out as the AAA software sellers that PS Plus has been featuring lately. It isn’t likely that any of these titles will convince somebody who is on the verge of signing up for Xbox Live, but that could be by design.
The Best Games On Game Pass
When comparing the offering of Games with Gold with those on Game Pass, it’s obvious which one Microsoft is intent on selling to as many gamers as possible. Over the past couple of years, it seems as if Games with Gold has been skimming by, with only the occasional game standing out. Of course, Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s biggest push with Xbox Series X/S, so its collection of great games shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but the sheer volume of big-nameAAA games on Game Passis comparatively stronger.
It seems clear from comparing Games with Gold to Xbox Game Pass that the latter is the focus for the current generation of consoles. The existence of Games with Gold seems perplexing with a service such as Game Pass, offering hundreds of games at the monthly cost of $15, with an Xbox Live subscription included. Exactly who those extra four games a month are supposed to win over is up to interpretation, but yet Microsoft has not changed or cancelled the offering either. Many argue it would make more sense toreplace Games with Gold with Game Passentirely.
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Game Pass Has Become Xbox’s Biggest Draw
Xbox Game Passis one of the gaming industry’s biggest offering of games for the value, and for good reason. Game Pass' broad selection of games and availability across both Xbox and Windows make it one of the most lucrative services for players. Games with Gold in comparison seems redundant. It’s difficult to imagine a future in which Microsoft persists with Games with Gold as a selling point for Xbox Live.
One of the things Games with Gold does well is its highlighting of older titles Xbox gamers might have missed. This can be seen in next month’s offering as bothThe King’s BirdandShadows: Awakeningreleased in 2018 to not a lot of hype. By including these titles in Games with Gold, Microsoft brings a much wider audience to the games than they would otherwise receive, allowing them to get the attention they deserve. PlayStation does a similar thing with itsPS Plus free monthly games, but the big difference is PS Plus often offers a big, recent title alongside them, or uses PS Plus to launch those games to a much larger audience for free.
The persistence with Games with Gold seems ultimately irrelevant. There isn’t the hype and anticipation around each month’s announcement that there once was, and PS Plus' offering has overtaken it. Microsoft should adopt a Games with Gold-like option in Xbox Game Pass.Game Pass' backwards compatible and indie gamelibrary is already expansive, bringing attention to these smaller titles, and a $15 subscription already gives the user an Xbox Live subscription combined with Xbox Game Pass. It definitely looks like the future of Xbox is in Game Pass, as opposed to Games with Gold.
