Xbox Games With Gold serves up Ground Zeroes, How to Survive, and more in August

By Danny Cowan July 28, 2015

august 2015 games with gold mgs ground zeroes gz gwg header — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft announced August’s Games With Gold lineup, revealing that Xbox Live Gold subscribers will receive free copies of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and other featured games throughout next month.

Microsoft additionally states that Xbox 360 owners will receive both entries in 4A Games’ Metro series starting August 1.

Recommended Videos

Ground Zeroes serves as an introductory chapter to the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, challenging players to infiltrate an enemy prison camp as series protagonist Solid Snake. The Xbox One version of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes will be free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to download between August 1 and August 31.

Starting August 16, Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Gold subscription can also pick up a free copy of How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition. Previously released for the Xbox 360, How to Survive takes place on an archipelago overrun by flesh-eating zombies, and players must seek out food, water, and shelter as they defend against the undead onslaught.

How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition is available as a free download for Xbox Live Gold service subscribers from August 16 through September 15.

Over on the Xbox 360, Microsoft is giving away free digital copies of 4A’s Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. Recently compiled in the upgraded Metro Redux for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms, the Metro games are first-person shooters set within a post-nuclear-apocalyptic Russia, where mutants stalk the abandoned underground Metro system.

Metro 2033 is first in line to launch as a freebie on August 1, and Metro: Last Light will be available for download free of charge starting August 16.

All of August’s featured games are normally priced at $20 apiece. This month’s currently featured games, including Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Gears of War 3, will remain available through July 31.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…

Gaming

Final Xbox Live Gold games include a free hidden gem worth downloading

Blue Fire's main character runs on a wall.

Microsoft revealed the final two games that will be available for free as part of the Games with Gold program for Xbox Live Gold. The service isn't really going out with a bang, but one of the games is a solid Souls-inspired indie platformer that's worth a download as Games with Gold's swan song.

The two games Microsoft will give away are Level 91 Entertainment's Inertial Drift and Robi Studios' Blue Fire. Inertial Drift is a vibrant, neon-infused arcade racer with unique twin-stick controls that players have to master in order to steer and drift properly. Racing game fans should get a kick out of it, but the game to really care about in this final batch is Blue Fire.
Blue Fire is a 3D platformer, but it takes more inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls and Hollow Knight than Super Mario 64. While it's a pretty fast-paced platformer with a satisfying dash move at its core, it makes players platform through pretty dark and moody settings that interconnect like Dark Souls areas do. The game also sometimes places emphasis on combat, which is usually a bad sign in platformers, fights can actually sometimes be pretty tough and satisfying in Blue Fire.

Gaming

Your Xbox Live Gold subscription will turn into Xbox Game Pass Core this September

Microsoft finally made the decision to move on from its monthly online-access subscription service Xbox Live Gold. On September 14, Xbox Live Gold will transform into Xbox Game Pass Core, with current Gold subscribers automatically gaining a Game Pass Core subscription.

An Xbox Live subscription tied to online play has existed in some form since Xbox Live launched in 2002, but Xbox Live Gold as we now know it truly came into form in July 2013 when Microsoft started the Games with Gold program that gave subscribers free games each month in addition to that online access. Although Microsoft rolled back some online restrictions in 2021, Games with Gold continues to this day. That will all end when Game Pass Core launches.

Gaming

Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct: how to watch and what to expect

xbox june showcases announced starfield direct hero image 37faabd65d647fb77b68

The Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature are shaping up to be the most important video game showcases to watch this month. Across these two back-to-back showcases today, Microsoft will give us a comprehensive look at what's coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass from its first-party studios and then finally give us the deep dive into Starfield that we've been waiting for since it was announced in 2018.
Because Sony has already held its PlayStation Showcase and Nintendo hasn't revealed any plans for a Nintendo Direct this month, it looks like this will be the big first-party showcase of June. With the presentation happening later today, we're laying out how you can watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature and explaining what you can expect from it.
When is the Xbox Games Showcase

The Xbox Games Showcase will begin at 10 a.m. PT today, June 11. Microsoft has not said how long the Xbox Games Showcase will be this year, but previous presentations have typically been between an hour and an hour-and-a-half long.
When is the Starfield Direct
Microsoft has stated that the Starfield Direct will begin "immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase." Because we don't know how long the Xbox Games Showcase is, though, we don't know exactly when this portion of the livestream will begin. We also don't know quite how long the Starfield Direct will last. To be safe, we recommend you set aside two or three hours to watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature.
How to watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct
Microsoft is promoting and live-streaming this pair of showcases across most of its gaming-focused social media platforms. As such, you can tune into the shows on Xbox's official YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook pages as well as Bethesda's YouTube and Twitch channels. Deaf fans can even experience the show thanks to a version of the show on YouTube with audio descriptions and stream on the XboxASL Twitch page.