Guess What, Everyone's Criticising Xbox Games With Gold Again

Honestly it's time to discontinue gold and instead focus completely on Game Pass. Charging for online always sucked and even makes less sense now to have a separate subscription alongside Game Pass. They should make online free and people still will subscribe to Game Pass because of its incredible value.

Don't bother with Hydrophobia. Was really pi553d when I played it on Xbox. Starts getting good then ends. Just buy a ps3 for it instead like I did so you can play the full game.

Well, they are because it continues to be crap. You do get the occasional solid game like Tropico 5 recently, but honestly it's usually just a bunch of old games nobody cares about. Even when they are quality games, they are usually games people beyond the hardcore gamers had no idea they even existed, so they automatically get shrugged off too. Usually even they are really old games.

PS Plus is not perfect either, but at least you get some modern games more often than not. I'd rather they did this than phasing Games with Gold out completely as even just a couple of worthwhile games a year are better than nothing, but the monthly criticism is justified when it continues to be more games from 10 years ago nobody remembers than anything else.

A relic from a bygone era. With what Xbox is doing for the last few years onward they should really start getting rid of these stains.

The argument that a lot of people are putting forth on Twitter right now is that people who play on PC Game Pass get to play the games online without having to pay for an online subscription, while console users need to pay for online. Not to mention that it doesn't fit with Microsoft's philosophy of letting everyone play anywhere.

I agree with this and in short, Microsoft should just remove Xbox Live Gold as well as Games with Gold, make online multiplayer free for console users and maybe even reduce the price of Game Pass Ultimate if Gold is being removed in order to make the service more enticing.

Well it’s garbage like most months. It is what it is though, I would never pay for gold on its own, Gamepass ultimate makes more sense for just a few quid more a month.

I'm split. While I do wish that gold was removed (and online multi-player) made free. The only reason I have game pass ultimate is because of the gold to game pass conversion. So if gold was removed, I probably would not renew game pass at $15 per month. I think $10 per month would be the sweet spot but I don't even play game pass games every month, so I'd probably just sign up for maybe 4 or 5 months per year.

Well it's better than February PS Plus selection.

I see games with gold as a bonus for the online service, the game service is gamepass and with ultimate you have access to the full service with ea games pc gamepass games with gold and online and cloud gaming , Microsoft want’s you to pay for gamepass ultimate not just games with gold that’s why they don’t give much with it.

I only have gold for the multi-player but that doesn't stop the disappointment every month.
We've gotten some heavy hitters in years past. Now it feels like an afterthought.

Just get GPU as simple as that, £10.99 a month.
The same people moan but spend £30 to £50 a month on a phone contract.

It’s no surprise that Xbox isn’t focusing on games with gold anymore. Their main focus is Xbox gamepass. They are now throwing in the leftovers into gold probably hoping people will get tired of the free game choices, discontinue gold and go with gamepass.

In my opinion, Gold should be removed, it's getting worse and worse every month. I'm trying not to jump into the nowadays "I hate everything" bandwagon, but it is clearly a case of saying: enough is enough.

I honestly can't remember the last time I downloaded a games with gold game.

@LtSarge Agreed.

Unlike Sony and Nintendo, cloud saves and voice chat have already been removed from the paid sub. GwG are fine, but not really worth continuing the service. Between BC games, Bethesda, and Activision, free online play could be the final straw for a lot of gamers, and convince them to go xbox.

Not really bothered. I've enough to play on Gamepass as is.

I mean, isn’t it obvious that Xbox is trying to drive everyone to Gamepass, so the numbers are low enough on gold that they can publicly justify eradicating the gold service completely. I don’t understand why anyone is on gold, when they can do the 1:1 conversion trick.

Gold is a 'legacy' service for those people on Xbox hardware that do not want to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate. I can't believe that there are people subscribed to Gold and regular Game Pass.

The 'perk' Gold included into Ultimate is pretty 'redundant' - yes it sounds 'good' but with EA Play and the ability to stream, play on PC/Mobiles etc - Ultimate basically does let you play on 'ANY' game pass platform at no 'extra' charge. If you have 'Game Pass for PC' or Game Pass for Xbox, I don't think that allows you to play Game Pass 'anywhere' but Game Pass Ultimate (to a PC user for example) means they can just buy an Xbox and not worry about 'online' access needing 'Gold'.

Long term,we will see what happens but MS could remove the need for 'Gold'. Game Pass for console suddenly has more 'value' to xbox only gamers as the 'online' content is also playable so those who 'pay' for 'Gold' could switch that to Game Pass for Console. Then if they want to add Game Pass for PC, for Mobile, Streaming, EA Play and whatever other 'perks', you have Ultimate. Arguably the 'value' of GPU drops by not getting 48 games a year 'free' with 'Gold' but its still 'remarkable' value.

I think Gold will exist for a while until maybe the 'majority' are subbed to Game Pass. That's designed to be 'invaluable' to console gamers to make them 'subscribe' with 'free' games to sweeten the deal. Even if the games are 'bad', they are still offering more 'value' in return - you get 'more' in value of games than you pay for Gold but the 'key' here is would anyone subscribe for these if online was 'free'.

When you compare Sony's PS+, which started as 'Free' games first before adapting that to include 'Online' access with the PS4 era, to Xbox which started off as Online access first before adding games, PS+ had very low numbers compared to Gold - now has a big Subscription base. The 'games' tend to take away the focus of the 'paid' online service because anyone who 'complains' tend to get shut down by the 'value' argument - Games that would cost you hundreds, if not thousands to buy every year for a 'small' fee and PC doesn't get 'free' games like these every month.

I'd be happy if they scrapped 'Gold' entirely making online access 'free', no longer giving away 'free' games. That instantly makes Game Pass for Xbox more appealing (every game playable instead of only the 'offline' games playable) and increases its 'value' to the consumer. Game Pass Ultimate may seem like its 'dropped' in value because you lose those 48 games a year, lose 'Gold' as a reason to buy, but its still giving you Game Pass for PC/Mobiles to play 'ANYWHERE', not needing to 'buy' separate subscriptions for each platform,the ability to 'stream' games, play on the cloud and of course EA Play too so still great value...

Games with Gold and Games with Plus are perks. Gold games aren't usually AAA and Plus games usually overlap Now. People subscribe not for the rented games but for the online services, that are better on Xbox. The great thing about Games with Gold is that Xbox and Xbox 360 games are not rented but owned.

But then Game Pass comes and Gold without games should be integrated into Game Pass and Ultimate for the same price so any Game Pass tier would include online services.

I actually don't think this month's selection is terrible. None of these are blockbuster games but Hydrophobia is pretty decent.

People have no perspective. Game Pass releases games in my wheelhouse like once in a quarter, maybe twice. I have the same ratio of GwG that catch my eye. The only difference is perception 😂 And triple AAA releases, I guess, but still. It's like $5 a month, c'mon people.

I feel like GWG needs to switch up their focus.

What if, instead of 4 games that no one really cares for a month, we get like a retro game we get to keep, 1 online multiplayer game to play (as you're paying for online services) and then 1 new indie game to help give developers a little bit of recognition?

I just think we as consumers know that gamepass has the games we want to play, so maybe GWG can give us new experiences? I dunno

Once Xbox has enough Gamepass subscribers, They'll get rid of gold..

I like the lineup and have liked it for the last few months now. It's always games I don't own and haven't played. I try them all out like games that hit game pass. Not sure what people expect from a few bucks a month. Also I pay for game pass with reward points so it feels like Xbox is just a Library of games for myself. It's just games that are supposed to be fun and rewarding. Everyone should stop being so critical and enjoy them and themselves. Not enough time in the day to be negative and critical on every single thing.

Don't feel bad, gwg. Ps+ isn't fairing any better, this month.

Well, they are trash games, so...

@PhhhCough Actually they are. Not by much. But one is definitely a tier below.

One point forgotten with gold is that PS and Nintendo sell cloud saves as part of the service, so part of the fee is cloud drive rental. Microsoft originally did that with 360, but removed cloud saves from the paywall with X1. So part of the "poor value" of Gold (compared to PS and Nintendo) is that they already offer more value without it than the others do.

Also, console has paywall but the PC-first people that argue against it do also forget that PC is loaded with hackers and cheaters more than console in part due to the open nature of the free online, where console is more policed.

I'm still against console paywalls and all 3 companies did it free just fine until MS introduced paying for it and the other two copied. But it's fair to remember console is a different service than "free" PC, and MS's Gold looks lower value because they paywalled less of their services than the other two out of the gate.

But we'll see what Sony offers with Spartacus. We can already bet it's not a Game Pass competitor, but if it makes Plus look much better than Gold in any way, MS is sure to react to it quickly. One other problem with ending Gold and Plus is what to do with everyone's game library already held ransom by these services. If they end it, does everyone lose their library after all, making the whole premise of the program a dead end to begin with? Or do they only include it if you subscribe to a different, more expensive service? (and is the legal red tape trouble for that.)

When I think about that, "rental" services like GP make more consumer sense than Gold/+. With Gold/+ you have to keep paying to get any additions to your library, and if they change the price or end the service you're locked into whatver they charge to access it. WIth GP, you pay this months price, you get this month's available games. No hostage holding of old games behind current prices, or not getting access to new games because you skipped that month 2 years ago.

@PhhhCough PS+ might be terrible this month, but at least Planet Coaster is a new, PS5/XSX game that's actually decent, just niche and performs poorly. That's still many leagues above Hydrophobia, lol.

Xbox should just do away with Xbox Live Gold, I don't see the purpose for it anymore. Just include the basic online services with Gamepass, it would be more affordable and desirable.

I think a lot of people forget that GwG was Microsoft following Sony's PS+ model and trying to dampen the sting of paying for online. Now that they've iterated on it with Gamepass, it just feels like a relic from yesteryear.

Gamepass sub prices will rise sooner than later anyway. Just cut Gold now, tell everyone that online is free, then make up the costs by raising GPU prices in a year or two. They'll look like heroes by doing something Nintendo and Playstation can't. Then they can quietly make back the money.

Gold offerings haven’t been good for years…why’s this month going to be any different? MS don’t want you subbing for gold they want you on gamepass.
Let’s be honest, gold as a service only shined the first couple of years of the 360…when everybody used mics and the competitions online was broken. Even then we were still pay for p2p gaming…at the mercy of some kid not rage quitting mid game.
MS then reluctantly offered games cause sonys service was, and for free, and was just as realisable by the end of the ps3/360 generation.
Soon as gamepass hit MS efforts with gold became almost nonexistent…whilst PS4’s plus offerings really helped boost praise upon the systems…offering AAA games gold still hasn’t seen years later.
MS should dump gold and the online paywall. I’ve been banging on about how archaic an online paywall for consoles is for years now…especially when you consider the increased push for cross platform play. And even more outrageous a charge when you consider Xbox hasn’t had any exclusive games to the hardware for over a generation now…they’re literally charging Xbox install base to unlock the exact same games they release on pc with no Additional charges or content locked.
I have, however changed my mind and want gold to stay forever now…purely for the selfish reason of it allowing me to get it cheap from turkey or where ever and convert it to gamepass for huge savings. A mp paywall is a complete con for what you’re getting…but at least It’s finally offering me a benefit via getting 3 years of gamepass at a quarter of the price…soon as it stops showing me any value I’ll be back on the get rid of gold train.

One of the competitors removing the paywall first seems like a solid salvo in this silly console war.

@EvenStephen7 Yeah honestly I think Microsoft getting rid of Live Gold would be something they could do that would really move the industry forward. It will put pressure on everyone else to make basic online services a free included part of using a game console. I mean the entire premise behind these services seems to hark back to a bygone era, and it's usually all on publishers to keep online services going anyways.

Just make Gamepass the all in one Xbox subscription and it will set a new standard, and it's really all they need these days anyways.

Another good reason why I think M$ should give us the ability to actually delete games completely and not just hide them.

@Carck there’s tons of people who buy a PlayStation simply because it’s the cooler system but likely only really buy call of duty and or fifa every year. Both games they likely want online for. These people must hate paying to play online for such a small amount of games. It’s why I refuse to pay for Nintendo online because I know I’m paying only to play splatoon 2. So if one system allowed them to play for free then they would consider just buying the xbox instead. Why would you pay $150 ( cod 50 + fifa 50 + online 50 = 150) when you could pay 100? Free online will make xbox cheaper but it will also make PlayStation look greedy.

I think GWG has had its time. Xbox have created GP which surpasses it. GWG was great for the 360/One consoles & I got some great games. I think 2022 should be it's final year and release some belters so it goes out on a high note rather than a whimper.

Better yet, we could be given a selection of, say 10, titles that we could vote on for a couple weeks that would determine the following month's games?

4 rubbish games I will pby never live long enough to want to play.