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Xbox Games with Gold: October’s lacklustre lineup includes Hitman, Stuntman and Victor Vran

Sadly, October is one of the weakest months in Games with Gold history

Another month, another four free Xbox Games. Free for those that pay for Xbox Live Gold, that is. Unfortunately, their loyalty has not been rewarded with a nice batch of tasty games to get stuck into this October. Instead, Gold gamers have been treated to what is possibly the weakest lineup ever seen from Games with Gold – the comments and like-to-dislike ratio on the reveal video attest to that.

Despite Xbox spokesperson Major Nelson’s enthusiastic description of each game, it’s hard to get excited about any of these titles – especially as they hardly represent good value for money compared to previous months. The two Xbox One games are Overcooked, a fast-paced food preparation sim which has since spawned a sequel, and Victor Vran, an action RPG in the Diablo vein that’s obviously inspired by the Van Helsing mythos.

On Xbox 360 you can revisit Agent 47’s trigger-happy adventures in Hitman: Blood Money, or pull off some edgy car manoeuvres in Stuntman: Ignition. Searching for the games on Amazon, their combined cost is just £44.72, which many Gold subscribers will deem not good enough. Especially seeing as most weren’t exactly itching to buy them in the first place.

Xbox Games with Gold August 2018 lineup

Xbox One

  • Overcooked (1 October – 31 October)
  • Victor Vran (October 16 – November 15)

Xbox 360

  • Stuntman: Ignition (October 1 – October 15)
  • Hitman: Blood Money (October 16 – October 31)

Read on to find out how to get Games with Gold – and why you should.

Games with Gold: Everything you need to know

What is Xbox Games with Gold?

Xbox Games with Gold is Microsoft’s version of PlayStation Plus, a monthly collection of free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Once a game has left Games with Gold, you’ll still get to keep the games and play them whenever so long as you maintain an active Xbox Live Gold subscription.

How much is Xbox Games with Gold?

Games with Gold comes part and parcel with an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

Picking up a subscription to Xbox Live Gold costs as little as £6 per month, but can be bought as a three-month package for £15 or 12 months for £40. For that price, you’ll get access to online play for Xbox 360 and Xbox One, as well as exclusive deals on the Microsoft Store, cloud saves, capture editing suites and free games via Games with Gold. Not too shabby.

How often is Xbox Games with Gold updated?

Technically, Xbox Games with Gold changes every first of the month. However, Microsoft actually has a staggered system for releasing its Games with Gold titles. Unlike Sony, who releases all six of its free games in one go, Microsoft tends to release two titles for the first half of the month, with another two replacing them for the second half.

Xbox Games with Gold also gives you one Xbox One game and one backwards-compatible Xbox 360 title at the same time. Those are then replaced with another Xbox One and Xbox 360 title mid-month. Sometimes Microsoft allows for indie titles to go via Games with Gold for an entire month, so you could end up with five games instead of four.

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