Xbox Games with Gold to stop offering Xbox 360 games starting October 2022

Starting October 1st, 2022, Xbox 360 games will no longer be offered at no additional cost as part of Microsoft’s Xbox Games with Gold program.

The company confirmed the news in a July 5th email sent to Xbox gamers. In the note, Xbox says “we have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalog.” However, the company promised that Games with Gold will continue to feature “exciting Xbox One titles and exclusive savings” each month.

Historically, Xbox Games with Gold has offered Xbox Live Gold subscribers four games per month, with one or two usually being 360 titles. Xbox Live Gold costs $11.99 CAD/month or $29.99/three months. The service is also included with a $16.99/month Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

It should be noted, however, that any 360 titles redeemed through Games with Gold before October 2022 will be yours to keep permanently, even if you don’t continue your Gold subscription. Further, many digital 360 games will also remain available for purchase on the Xbox Store as an alternative.

In November, Microsoft added nearly 80 Xbox 360 games to its backwards compatibility program to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xbox. At the time, the company said that would be the final batch of new backwards compatible titles, as it had “reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints.” Naturally, then, it was only inevitable that it would stop offering them through Games with Gold as well.