Xbox March Games With Gold, April’s Double-Game Plan And 3 New Games Announced

Xie Enwei, General Manager Of Management And Operations Of Microsoft In China, Speaks During The Presentation Of The Xbox One — IN PHOTO: Xie Enwei, general manager of management and operations of Microsoft in China, speaks during the presentation of the Xbox One by Microsoft as part of ChinaJoy 2014 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference in Shanghai July 30, 2014. Reuters/Carlos Barria

Following an unprecedented leak from NeoGAF, it appears that Microsoft has taken matters into its hands and announced what’s coming for the March and April Games with Gold. Recently announced in the Xbox Wire, it appears that the leak was true, except for one point.

In the official announcement, the Xbox One will be getting one title, “Rayman: Legends” for free. It will be available for download from March 1 to 31. The leak also announced that indie title “IDARB” free offer was supposed to be extended until March. However, officially, there was no mention of this, and Microsoft has not given any word on the leak to confirm or debunk the claim.

The offers for the Xbox 360 remain the same as the leak, with “Tomb Raider” offered for free for the first half of the month, and “Bioshock Infinite” for the latter half. For those who aren’t familiar, these two were some of the winning games of 2013. “Tomb Raider” is a reboot that saw unbelievable environments and sequences. “Bioshock Infinite” is a revered title that lets players be Booker DeWitt, a hardened hired gun who wants a clean start. This can only be done by saving Elizabeth and going on an adventure through the flying city of Columbia.

And if that’s not enough, the NeoGAF leak teases a new promo coming in April. Apparently, it will double the number of games available for free. This means that there will be free four games on the Xbox 360 and two for the Xbox One.

“To celebrate, we’re giving customers more of what they love by doubling free games in Games with Gold for April!” said the accompanying text for the teaser image seen in the NeoGAF link above. What the celebration means here is the fact that Xbox Gold Live has offered fans over 100M games using the free-game service.

What’s unclear is whether the doubled free Games with Gold will only be offered in April, or if it will be retained moving forward. Microsoft has yet to confirm any of these leaks, so best to take them with a grain of salt.

Apart from the rumoured March Games with Gold, there are three confirmed titles that will be debuting on the Xbox One. An interesting and interestingly free title that will release on March 31 is “Neverwinter.”

Polygon reports that the MMO title from Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios will come with the base game, playable classes, and “Tyranny of Dragons” expansion. For players who will be transferring from the PC platform to the Xbox One, there is also the added value of integrated friends list and optimized controls at launch.

The other two games were announced by Major Nelson in his official blog. “Resident Evil Revelations 2” the first episode is out for the Xbox One. This title will be the introduction into a four-episode-long survival horror game. In the first installment titled Penal Colony, Claire and Moira are kidnapped and trapped in an island. Escape is first priority, but players’ experience can be built up and prolonged thanks to the Raid Mode.

“Dragon Ball Xenoverse” is also out for both the Xbox One and Xbox 360. The newest “Dragon Ball” title shows off customisation, races and a number of combats, both on and offline. The game will also connect players with others worldwide via the Toki Toki City hub to fight in online tournaments.