The confirmation of Xbox Live Gold and Games with Gold's discontinuation has been long anticipated, and now it is officially confirmed. However, in recent years, Microsoft has prioritized strengthening Xbox Game Pass rather than acquiring top-notch games for Games with Gold. It initially began on Xbox 360 and has continued on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

This program has been providing subscribers with complimentary games every month for over a decade. Microsoft has recently revealed the last two ever Xbox Live Gold free Games with Gold games.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can now enjoy the added benefit of claiming the free Games with Gold games, as Xbox Live Gold is included in the Game Pass Ultimate package. The last set of free Games with Gold includes Blue Fire and Inertial Drift, which can be enjoyed from August 1 to August 31.

Highlights Xbox Live Gold and the Games with Gold program will no longer be available starting September 2023, as they will be substituted by Xbox Game Pass Core.

Xbox game pass free games list