Skip to main content

Xbox Live Gold members can play 'Forza Horizon,' more for free in September

Xbox - September Games with Gold
Xbox Live Gold members will be able to enjoy some AAA games for free in September, thanks to the Games With Gold program.

Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, known to gamers by his handle, Major Nelson, has revealed next month’s offerings, which feature some big titles.

Games With Gold is Microsoft’s equivalent to PlayStation Plus. It’s a subscription service that not only gets gamers on Xbox Live, but also nets four free games each month.

Next month’s big titles are Forza Horizon and Mirror’s Edge. Forza Horizon is a more arcade-like offshoot of the Forza franchise, and features a large open world to race around. Mirror’s Edge is a first-person action game that has gamers playing as Faith as she runs from rooftop to rooftop, trying to topple a totalitarian regime. Luckily, both games are backwards compatible, meaning that Xbox One owners who sold their Xbox 360s will still be able to play.

On the Xbox One end, gamers will get Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China. It’s a side-scrolling action game that treads far from the series’ third-person action-adventure roots. It’s the only game in the series to take place in China and features a female assassin. It takes place in 1526, and the main protagonist, Shao Jun, is an assassin trained by Ezio Auditore de Firenze. Firenze was the main protagonist from Assassin’s Creed 2 to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. She returns to China to fight the Chinese offshoot of the Templars, who destroyed the Chinese brotherhood years earlier.

And finally, a new game, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, will be premiering on Xbox One, and is free to those with Gold subscriptions. It comes from Norwegian developer Snowcastle Games, and is a turn-based role-playing game that originated as a Kickstarter in 2011.

Next month’s Games With Gold will go live on September 1, and will be available to download until September 30.

Imad Khan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Imad has been a gamer all his life. He started blogging about games in college and quickly started moving up to various…
Ubisoft confirms Assassin’s Creed remakes are in the works
Basim perched on a ledge overlooking Baghdad

In a company interview with CEO Yves Guillemot posted on the Ubisoft website Thursday, the executive reveals that there are remakes of Assassin's Creed games in the works, although he doesn't specify which ones.

"Players can be excited about some remakes, which will allow us to revisit some of the games we've created in the past and modernize them," he says, implying that it could pertain to games made before Odyssey. "There are worlds in some of our older Assassin's Creed games that are still extremely rich."

Read more
Surfaced patent shows what an Xbox streaming console would’ve looked like
An Xbox Series X sits next to both Series S models.

There have been a few Xbox devices that have never come to fruition, one of which was Keystone, a prototype for an affordable game streaming device you could hook up to your TV or monitor. Thanks to a surfaced patent, we've gotten an even closer look at what it would've potentially looked like.

The patent, first spotted by Windows Central, gives us a more complete view of the device. We've previously seen the Keystone in the flesh. Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer is known for hiding teases and interesting collectibles on the shelf in his office. In a 2022 X (formerly Twitter) post congratulating Bethesda on Fallout's 25th anniversary, you can see a small white device on the top shelf that's actually a Keystone prototype. Xbox told Digital Trends that it was a version of the device made before it decided to "refocus our efforts on a new approach.”

Read more
Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for June 28
Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on June 28, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "ORDER." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle can refer to a large number of animals, particularly livestock like cattle or sheep, that are moving together in a group.

Read more