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Thief, Sacred 3 free via Xbox Games with Gold in December

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Microsoft revealed next month’s slate of free-to-download games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, naming the stealth-action franchise reboot Thief and action-RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing as next month’s Xbox One freebies.

Service subscribers will be able to download the next batch of Games with Gold releases starting on December 1st.

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December’s Xbox Games with Gold lineup delivers Eidos Montreal’s first-person stealth game Thief to Xbox One owners free of charge. Released in 2014, Thief reboots an acclaimed PC series developed by Looking Glass Studios, creator of landmark games like Ultima Underworld and System Shock.

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Also on tap for the Xbox One next month is The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, an action-RPG with a gothic noir setting. Developed by NeocoreGames, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will make its Xbox One debut as part of next month’s Games with Gold promotion.

December’s lineup also features the Xbox 360 edition of CastleStorm, a medieval artillery-themed strategy game from Pinball FX creator Zen Studios. Xbox One owners previously received the Definitive Edition of CastleStorm as part of the Games with Gold program in May.

Other Xbox 360 games hitting Games with Gold next month include Deep Silver’s co-op brawler Sacred 3 and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, a first-person tactical shooter developed by Codemasters.

Microsoft previously announced that all Xbox 360 games featured in the Games with Gold program will also be playable on the Xbox One thanks to a recently introduced firmware update that enables backward compatibility for legacy Xbox 360 software. Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to download and play December’s Xbox 360 games directly from the Xbox One’s digital storefront.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will be available as a free download for Xbox Live Gold members from December 1st through the 31st, and Thief will be up for grabs between December 16th and January 15th, 2016. CastleStorm will be free to download from December 1st through the 15th, and Sacred 3 and Operation Flashpoint will be available from December 16th through the end of the month.

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