It's the end of the month, which means game companies are announcing their next batch of free game offerings. With Sony usually waiting until the last Wednesday of every month to announce the next free PS Plus games, Microsoft has beaten its rival to the punch, announcing the free Xbox Games with Gold for March 2021. Unfortunately, fan reaction to the free Games with Gold for March 2021 has been largely negative so far.
There are multiple metrics that show fans are not happy about the Xbox free Games with Gold for March 2021. On YouTube, Microsoft has released a short video showcasing the free games lineup for March 2021, and that video has been flooded with negative comments and dislikes. At the time of this writing, it has 1.4 thousand dislikes versus 1.3 thousand likes, with the dislikes continuing to grow and outpace the likes.
Meanwhile, Xbox-focused news site Pure Xbox has hosted a poll asking fans how they feel about the free Xbox Games with Gold for March 2021. Out of those polled, 48% have said that the lineup is "terrible" whereas 34% say that they are "not happy" with the games. Needless to say, this is one of the most adverse negative reactions that fans have had to the free Xbox Games with Gold lineups yet.
The free Games with Gold for March 2021 include Warface: Breakout, an online multiplayer shooter game; VALA: Vicious Attack Llama Apocalpyse, a local co-op twin-stick shooter about mechs fighting off killer llamas; Metal Slug 3, an Xbox 360 re-release of a classic arcade game; and finally, Port Royale 3, a business management game that earned mixed reviews when it first launched in 2012. It seems fans are simply not impressed with the games available, probably because they are all relatively obscure and niche games.
Something else that seems to be upsetting fans is the lack of an Xbox Series X game for the free Games with Gold lineup. The free Xbox Games with Gold for February 2021 included Gears 5 at least, giving Xbox Live Gold subscribers five games instead of the usual four. For one reason or another, Microsoft has opted to backpedal for the March 2021 free games, only giving away four games in March.
There have been rumblings that Microsoft may be looking to phase out Xbox Live Gold, though those rumors seem to have been dashed when the company instead announced a big price increase for the service (that it immediately changed its mind about). Microsoft seems to be focusing most of its efforts on its Xbox Game Pass program, and with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate coming with all the Xbox Live Gold perks anyway, that's no surprise. It will be interesting to see how the company reacts to this backlash and if it decides to make more of an effort with the April free games.
Source: Pure Xbox