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Games with Gold ends Xbox 360 releases in October

Valve's 2011 puzzle game will be the final Xbox 360 game of Microsoft's long-running Games with Gold service.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

August 30, 2022

1 Min Read
Promo art for Valve's 2011 game, Portal 2.

Beginning in October, Xbox's free Games with Gold will stop including Xbox 360 titles. Valve's Portal 2 will be the final game from Microsoft's 2005 console to be a part of the service. 

In July, Microsoft announced that monthly Games with Gold updates would stop including Xbox 360 games. An email sent to Xbox players explained that Microsoft had "reached the limit" of what Xbox 360 titles it could add to the catalog, and going forward would continue offering Xbox One games. 

Released in 2011, Portal 2 was the sequel to Valve's 2007 breakout from The Orange Box, and was previously added to Games with Gold in 2019. It'll be available to download beginning on September 16 through September 30. 

Outside of Portal 2, September's Games with Gold includes Gods Will Fall (September 1-September 30), Double Kick Heroes (September 16-October 15), and the Xbox game Thrillville (September 1-September 15).

Earlier in the summer, both Portal titles, and the standalone Still Alive version for the Xbox Live Arcade, were released on the Nintendo Switch. 



Though there hasn't been a full continuation of the Portal franchise, Valve has returned to the universe over the years. It released a VR physics game in 2016, along with a tech demo for its Steam Deck handheld that was later converted into a free release.

Earlier in the year, though, Valve's Greg Coomer teased that the studio was making multiple game projects. While not a hard confirmation of more Portal, the developer's recent return to making games with Half-Life: Alyx may be part of a bigger resurgence. 

About the Author

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

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