The Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list of free games has been updated and re-confirmed by Microsoft. All told, and as reported earlier, the Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list is comprised of five games spread across Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
It’s interesting that the Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list includes three free games for Xbox 360, since June is E3 month and Microsoft’s making a big PR push. Yet even more compelling for Xbox One owners is the fact that June marks the first time the Games with Gold program will appear on Xbox One.
The Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list of free games includes three titles, a 50% expansion from the program’s normal two. In the month of May, for instance, Microsoft made two Xbox 360 games available for free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers — Saints Row: The Third and Dust: An Elysian Tail.
In June, the Xbox 360 Games with Gold program includes Dark Souls, Charlie Murder and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. As we originally reported, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is considered the “bonus” game in the June 2014 Games with Gold lineup.
Microsoft said it expanded the Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list of free games to celebrate the program’s one-year anniversary. Seeing the Games with Gold program debut on Xbox One could be viewed as a bit of a “celebration” as well and would align with Microsoft’s history of timing games and products with key dates. Realistically, though, it’s probably been more of a matter of Microsoft needing to flesh-out its Xbox One Games with Gold program before launch it. The June 2014 timing is more than likely a happy coincidence.
Dark Souls, which will be available in the Xbox 360 Games with Gold program from June 1-15, takes players on an incredibly challenging action-role-playing adventure. In terms of action RPGs, Dark Souls is one of the Xbox 360’s more beloved titles, so having it available as part of the Xbox 360 Games with Gold June 2014 free games list is a serious coup.
The next two games, Charlie Murder and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, will both be available from June 16-30. Microsoft didn’t initially say when the games would be available, leading to speculation that Super Street Fighter IV would be available for free throughout the month of June. Now it’s been confirmed that the games will both be available for the last half of June. The decision will certainly send the Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list out on a high note.
As outlined above, the Xbox One Games with Gold program marks its debut in June with two titles. One of the two is Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (shown above), while the other is Halo: Spartan Assault. Unfortunately Microsoft still hasn’t announced a specific release date for those two debut Xbox One Games with Gold titles. With June 1 coming right up on Sunday though, we expect to learn more over the weekend.
If nothing else, you can always just fire-up your Xbox One Sunday morning to see which of the next-gen titles on that Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list is available as a free download. One of them’s bound to be there, right?
In addition to the free games, Microsoft’s “Deals with Gold” discount program for games and content will also debut on Xbox One in June.
The five games on Microsoft’s Xbox Games with Gold June 2014 list have a total MSRP of $84.95. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is the heavy-hitter of the bunch, carrying a price of $29.99, but it’s the Xbox One Games with Gold freebie Max: The Curse of Brotherhood that stands out to us as the best of the bunch.
