

Having launched in July 2013 for Xbox 360, Games with Gold gave Xbox Live Gold subscribers the option of accessing free games every month. One element of Xbox Live is shutting down, however, and that's the Games with Gold initiative. What's key to understand is that while the 'Xbox Live' branding is going away, the service itself remains unchanged: Your Gamertag will remain, so too will your ability to play online, access your friend list, and your library of games. The service was ultimately popularized by Halo 2 and has gone on to be an integral component to the Xbox ecosystem – iterations of Xbox Live subsequently appeared on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Xbox Live was introduced 20 years ago, having launched in November 2002 and enabling online connectivity for some of the best original Xbox games like MechAssault and Unreal Championship.
