While playing online games with friends was obviously the biggest draw for Xbox Live Gold, one additional perk was the free games that came each month. Beginning just a few years into the Xbox 360's console lifespan, Xbox Live Gold subscribers would receive anywhere between two to four games for free as long as they're subscribed to Gold. Those free games were always a nice perk, but now Xbox has a newer deal with Xbox Game Pass, which in a lot of ways invalidates and provides a greater offering compared to Xbox Live Gold.
Microsoft has assured fans that Xbox Live isn't changing or going away for Xbox Series X/S, but that doesn't take the Games with Gold deal out of the equation. With Xbox Game Pass offering over 100x more games compared to the offering each month, ranging from brand new games to backwards compatible titles, it's hard for some to still get excited for the Games with Gold offerings. Realistically, this system probably wouldn't be taken out entirely, but it is possible that Games with Gold could change in the wake of Game Pass and Xbox Series X/S.
Xbox Live Gold Isn't Going Away, But Games with Gold Could
Microsoft has made it abundantly clear that Xbox Live isn't going away by any means, largely in response to the rumors that multiplayer on the console would go entirely free-to-play. Those rumors initially spawned from the Halo Infinite reveal, because of a leak that stated Infinite's multiplayer offering was free-to-play, but that was misconstrued as all multiplayer on Xbox Series X/S would be free. Official comments from Microsoft were quick to shut down these rumors, but that doesn't mean Xbox Live Gold won't change with the new generation.
There's still plenty of evidence that some kind of change is coming to Xbox Live Gold, and while that may not necessarily include free multiplayer, it could result in other changes to the service like Games with Gold. Microsoft's removal of the yearly subscription of Xbox Live Gold is an indication of a big change coming in some form. That could be as simple as a price increase/decrease, but could also be a reflection of more changes coming as well. Considering Game Pass has been pushed hard by Microsoft and Xbox, Games with Gold could be changed as a result.
Games with Gold is Redundant with Game Pass
In a lot of ways, the offerings of Game Pass have trumped what's come with Games with Gold, at least in terms of time vs. games. Granted, if a player has been a subscriber to Xbox Live Gold since the Games with Gold program started, they would theoretically own over 300 games free. Games with Gold over the last seven years has become an immense value, but Game Pass offers almost 400 games immediately. Some of which are brand new triple-A games from first-party Xbox Game Studios. Not to mention the several times that fans have complained about the game selections for Games with Gold as being random and unnecessary.
There's also the theory that Game Pass and Xbox Live come tied together permanently, rather than offering Game Pass Ultimate as just an optional subscription. Game Pass in a lot of ways offers the same exact thing that Games with Gold provides, so if a Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold subscription merges together for next-gen, the purpose of Games with Gold becomes irrelevant. Frankly the value in Game Pass Ultimate is huge for Xbox fans, so it would make sense for Microsoft to push its best value forward as the most popular subscription. That does bring some potential hiccups that could lead to Games with Gold not going away just yet.
Games with Gold Could Change For Next-Gen
Games with Gold will likely stick around, at least for now. With Game Pass being the big value proposition with Xbox now, Games with Gold does seem irrelevant in comparison, but it wouldn't be taken away entirely. Players who've been around since the beginning of Xbox Live's Games with Gold would still have over 300 titles tied to their accounts, so Microsoft would want players to reserve that ownership. Those free games would need to be transferred over to players' accounts permanently if the service is going away, otherwise there'd be backlash from fans still playing those games.
It is possible that Xbox could discontinue the service, while players could still retain ownership of all those games as downloadable licenses. New additions to Games with Gold are going to have to skirt the balance of being "new" for players without already being part of the Game Pass library. Either way, it just seems odd to have a service like Games with Gold alongside Game Pass for Xbox. Overall, it's a better value for players to be able to get "free" games from a variety of sources. Perhaps we'll see how Xbox Live changes this holiday.
Xbox Series X/S launches on November 10, 2020.