Xbox's Games with Gold includes an extra third game in March
As a new month arrives, Xbox Games with Gold creeps back up to three free games.
What you need to know
- Xbox Games with Gold is a perk of Xbox Live Gold, and offers a selection of free games every month.
- The service has been heavily and consistently criticized by the community for its lackluster offerings.
- Back in October, Microsoft also reduced the number of free games a month from four to just two.
- The Games with Gold for March 2023, and actually includes three Xbox games with decent reception from players.
Over the last few years, Xbox Games with Gold has increasingly fallen out of favor with the Xbox community versus other services like Xbox Game Pass, with good reason. Xbox has now revealed the selection of titles being offered through Games with Gold for March 2023, and the number has actually increased from two to three games.
Back in Oct. 2022, Xbox reduced the number of monthly Games with Gold from four to only two, after dropping all Xbox 360 and original Xbox games from the service. Now, at least for the next month, Xbox Games with Gold is increasing its monthly offerings from two to three Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S titles. None of the included games in March are "AAA" or even high profile, but all three appear to be decently reviewed by Xbox gamers in the Microsoft Store.
The three games offer 3,230 in possible Gamerscore and a combined $85.97 in value. The games include:
- Trüberbrook: March 1 to March 31
- Sudden Strike 4 — Complete Collection: March 1 to March 31
- Lamentum: March 16 to April 15
Xbox's Games with Gold for the month of March are unlikely to sway community opinion of the much-maligned service, especially as Xbox Game Pass continues to aggressively expand with a plethora of incredible new titles. The list of best Xbox Game Pass games is packed with modern blockbusters and classic hits in every genre, with something for every player. Still, it's good to see the service at least partially undo the massive reduction in monthly titles.
Xbox players who want the best of everything should look no further than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes all the Game Pass titles for Xbox and Windows PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Xbox Live Gold for online multiplayer. Yes, that means Xbox Games with Gold is included as well.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Xbox Live Gold and Games with Gold, but the real draw of this epic gaming subscription is access to hundreds of awesome games across Xbox, Windows PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.