Xbox is back with another round of free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers going into September. Live every month, Games With Gold unlocks four free games for subscribers. There are two Xbox One games and then two backward compatible Xbox games from previous generations available. One of each unlocks September 1, with the remaining two unlocking on September 15. Headlined by Tom Clancy's The Division, September 2020's free games look like a great offering.
Unlocking September 1 and lasting through September 30, Tom Clancy's The Division delivers one of the best online multiplayer shooter experiences of the past generation. It takes place in a New York City that served as the epicenter of a massive plague. Players will investigate the cause of the plague while taking on rival factions that seek to claim New York as their own -- all with their friends' help. In The Division players will loot, level, and progress along the way, as all good Games as a Service titles do anymore.
The second Xbox One game being made available in September is The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, which unlocks September 16 and lasts through October 15. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a traditional point-and-click adventure game, set in the fantasy world of Aventasia. The game comes from King Art Games, which more recently released the RTS Iron Harvest with Deep Silver.
In addition to the two Xbox One games, September also features one Xbox 360 title and one original Xbox game. de Blob 2 is a unique 2D and 3D platformer with a painting mechanic that adds color to a black and white world. de Blob 2 will be available from September 1 through 15. Then on Xbox is Armed and Dangerous, a third-person shooter mixing violence, pop-culture references, and over the top humor. Armed and Dangerous unlocks September 16 and lasts through September 30. Both games run on Xbox One via backward compatibility.
All that's required to unlock these four games is an Xbox Live Gold subscription, which many Xbox users already have so that they can play multiplayer on Xbox One. Free games are offered monthly, so any new subscribers also have access to August's free games, too. These games include Portal Knights, Override: Mech City Brawl, and Red Faction 2.
There have been some reports in recent months that the Xbox Games With Gold program, as well as Xbox Live Gold, will be ending. Speculation is that Microsoft might make online play free with the launch of the Xbox Series X. That's clearly not happening this September, but subscribers should remain watchful as the year progresses. Xbox Games With Gold could very well become fully supplanted by Xbox Game Pass.