Xbox One owners with an active Xbox Live Gold membership will also receive free copies of World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap in January, while Rayman Origins arrives as next month’s featured freebie on the Xbox 360.
Before landing a starring role in next month’s Games With Gold lineup, Killer Instinct premiered as a launch title for the Xbox One in 2013. Available as a free download for all Xbox One owners, Killer Instinct includes a single playable character by default, while the remainder of the game’s roster can be unlocked via microtransactions.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers will get access to a slate of nine playable characters by downloading Killer Instinct Season 2 Ultra for free via Games With Gold next month, including returning series favorites Riptor, Maya, Cinder, and T.J. Combo. Other characters bundled with Season 2 Ultra include franchise newcomers Kan-Ra, Omen, Aganos, Hisako, and Aria.
Players who download Killer Instinct Season 2 Ultra will additionally unlock eight costumes, 16 premium accessory packs, and a fully featured port of the 1996 arcade game Killer Instinct 2.
Also on tap for Games With Gold next month is World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap, an Xbox One tower defense and action-RPG hybrid that boasts a cooperative campaign in addition to a single-player story mode. Xbox 360 owners, meanwhile, can look forward to free copies of Double Fine’s adventure game The Cave and Ubisoft’s vibrantly colorful side-scrolling platformer Rayman Origins. Both The Cave and Rayman Origins are also playable on the Xbox One via backward compatibility.
World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap and The Cave will be free to download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers starting on January 1. Killer Instinct Season 2 Ultra and Rayman Origins will join the Games With Gold lineup on January 16.
