Now on Sale at Amazon: Downloadable Xbox Live Games

By Geoff Duncan April 9, 2009

Now on Sale at Amazon: Downloadable Xbox Live Games

Online retailer Amazon.com is well-known for offering just anything and everything for sale through its extensive Web-based store: now, the company is propelling itself into the world of Xbox Live games with the launch of its Xbox Live Store beta, enabling customers to purchase (or make gifts of) Microsoft Points cards, Xbox Live subscription cards, and digital access codes for downloading Xbox Live games. Available titles include favorites like Castle Crashers and Braid, and the move makes Amazon the first retailer outside the Microsoft ecosystem to offer downloadable Xbox Live games for sale.

“PC gamers have enjoyed the convenience of digital downloads on Amazon.com for some time. Now Amazon.com and Microsoft are bringing that same level of convenience to platform gamers by expanding the reach of the Xbox Live digital platform to millions of Amazon customers,” said Amazon VP of video games and software Greg Hart, in a statement.

Customers can buy games, subscription cards, or Microsoft Point cards for themselves or as gifts. When buying a game, customers receive an Xbox Live code, which is retained in the customers “Your Games & Software” library so users can retrieve it at any time; customers can also email the code to themselves or a gift recipient. Once customers have the code, they can download the purchase via Xbox Live.

Although at first glance it might be difficult to see why customers might want to buy Xbox Live titles through Amazon rather than via Xbox Live directly, retaining purchases in a user’s account information is one reason. Amazon is also trying to enhance the buying experience by tying the Amazon Xbox Live Store into its personalization and recommendation system so users can learn about new games based on purchases made by similar customers.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

Every summer 2024 gaming showcase: full schedule and stream recaps

Geoff Keighley shows a slide showing the top 10 selling Steam Games of 2024.

This summer, we're living in a brave new world. E3 is officially dead -- for real this time. That means there's a vacuum to be filled as publishers still look to showcase their games during high-profile events. There's both good news and bad news for anyone who looks forward to E3 season. The good news? Summer Game Fest is filling that gap, alongside several streams that'll orbit around it. The bad news? Keeping track of it all is a huge pain.

Over the next few months, we'll see scattered shows from Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and more game companies. To help make your life a little easier, we're rounding them up in one place. We'll keep this article updated throughout the summer, adding in the VODs of all the streams once they air, so check back in from now until September so you don't miss a single show.
State of Play: May 30
State of Play | May 30, 2024 | [English]

Gaming

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch

A soldier squats in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 key art.

After days of speculation, Xbox confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will come to Xbox Game Pass at launch. Xbox has not specified which platforms it will come to, though.

When Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was officially announced last week, fans immediately began speculating about its Game Pass status. It's the first Call of Duty title released since Microsoft successfully acquired Activision Blizzard, so a Game Pass launch seemed likely. While the announcement was initially leaked by a Game Pass notification, Xbox has now officially confirmed that the game is bound for the service.

Gaming

Best Buy Memorial Day sale: Save $50 on the Xbox Series X

A black Xbox Series X and controller against a black background.

We don’t see many Xbox Series X deals, so it’s great to see $50 off the Microsoft Xbox Series X at Best Buy at the moment. It normally costs $500, but right now you can buy it for $450, a small but useful price cut for anyone considering buying a new console. Pair it up with one of the best Xbox Game Pass deals and you can’t go wrong. If you’re keen to find out more about the console, keep reading and we’ll explain all.

Why you should buy the Microsoft Xbox Series X
Considered to be one of the best gaming consoles for Microsoft fans, the Microsoft Xbox Series X may have divisive looks but it’s supremely powerful with a wealth of games. The console provides 12 teraflops of power with support for DirectX ray tracing, 4K gaming, and even has a custom 1TB SSD for storage so it doesn’t skip a beat anywhere. It has lightning-fast load times with gameplay of up to 120 FPS ensuring everything looks fantastic. Arguably its best feature though is Quick Resume. That means you can easily leave where you left things even after turning the console off. It’s hugely useful and it’s quick too so your console is always ready for you to return.