Microsoft Reveals Xbox Games with Gold for July

Microsoft has revealed today the two Xbox Games with Gold titles for the month of July. The first game that will Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to claim for free starting July 1 is the survival horror game Darkwood ($14.99).

It will be followed on July 16 by the puzzle game When the Past was Around, which is priced at $8.49. That’s a total of $23.5 in value, which is less than the $38 we had with the Games with Gold for June.

This is really nothing new, but the value and quality of Games with Gold titles have dropped significantly since Microsoft stopped offering Xbox 360 games and gave content priority to Xbox Game Pass. If you have an Xbox console and don’t have Game Pass, you’re probably doing it wrong anyway.

Last week, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass will get its first price increase starting on July 6 for new subscribers. Game Pass for Console will go from $9.99/month to $10.99/month (€10.99 / £8.99), while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will go from $14.99/month to $16.99/month (€14.99 / £12.99). For existing subscribers, these price increases will go into effect on August 13.

Xbox Live Gold, which is included for free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, will remain available at $9.99/month. Despite the price increase, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will remain great value at $16.99/month as you get the all-in-one package with Xbox Live Gold, Console Game Pass, PC Game Pass, EA Play, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.