Thanks to the Games for Gold program, any Xbox Live Gold member can now download Assassin’s Creed II for free until the end of this month. The program was recently unveiled at this year’s E3 as a nice addition to the monthly membership fee and to celebrate the event, the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise is also on sale. If you haven’t tried the series yet, Assassin’s Creed II is an excellent place to start as it recaps the events of the original nicely while also fixing a lot of issues that plagued the first game.
At the same time, Xbox Live Marketplace is also having a few deals this week which includes a number of Tom Clancy games, the most recent version of Mortal Kombat and a publisher sale from Capcom with savings up to 75% off on select titles.
While I feel that the Games for Gold program isn’t as strong as Sony’s PlayStation Plus at the moment, it does show that Microsoft is at least realizing the potential of how free games can help bring in subscriptions. Before, Xbox Live Gold was only required for online play, so Microsoft effectively scared off many potential customers who only like single player games.
Hopefully as the next generation of consoles hits, both companies will attempt to maintain their respective programs as they are both a step in the right direction.
Tell us, will you be checking out Assassin’s Creed II now that it’s free to download? Let us know in the comments below.