How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games

Getting an Xbox One, or any console, is an investment. A lot of people see it as you just purchasing a piece of hardware and connecting it to your TV. There are on-going costs associated with modern gaming though, and they’re only increasing. Every video game console requires that users purchase an online subscription before they can play with their friends. Almost every game now has a season pass of some kind too. These are so users can pick-up the full experience with one purchase, instead of it requiring three or four. Free and cheap Xbox One games are a way for gamers to keep their costs down.

The Xbox One, has lots of options when it comes to saving on games. Deep in the Xbox Store is a selection of free Xbox One games that users can play, if they don’t want to spend money on in-game extras. Xbox Live Deals with Gold offer users the opportunity to pick up big-name games at discounted rates.

Here are some easy ways to get cheap and free Xbox One games for your console.

How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games: Xbox Live Gold & Spotlight Deals

Your quest for cheap and easy Xbox One games should always start with the Xbox Live Gold and Spotlight Deals that Microsoft announces each week.

Count on new Xbox Live Gold deals every Tuesday. As long as you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription, Microsoft heavily discounts both new games and old games alike. Sometimes these titles are smaller in scale. Sometimes they’re recent launches with recognizable names. NBA 2K16, Batman Arkham Knight Diablo 3 and Destiny The Taken King were all recently on sale thanks to Xbox Live Deals with Gold. Sometimes Microsoft discounts games for even those that don’t have an Xbox Live Gold account. These are usually the Spotlight Deals. You can check the Spotlight Deals, and Xbox Live Deals with Gold from Xbox.com, the Xbox Store on your console and the Xbox apps on iPhone, Android and Windows.

How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games: Xbox Live Games with Gold

Xbox Live Games with Gold is another perk of your Xbox Live Gold subscription. Instead of offering you discounts though, Microsoft just gives away access to these games.

Every month the Xbox Live Games with Gold promotion changes, removing the titles that have been around for a while and replacing them with fresh ones. Games in the program are digital downloads and completely unlocked, though you can purchase the downloadable content for them separately. As long as you maintain your Xbox Live Gold subscription, these games are always available to you.

Read: Xbox Live Games with Gold for June 2016 – What You Need to Know

I wouldn’t necessarily say that you’re getting free Xbox One games with this as others have. Xbox Live Gold costs $9.99 a month or $60 a year. If you have a subscription because of multiplayer, I suppose this is free.

How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games: Free-to-Play Games in the Xbox Store

Most titles made for video game consoles still cost money. Smaller titles range from around $20 too much larger titles that cost $60 without any extra content. There are free Xbox One games too, titles that don’t cost players anything to download at all.

DC Universe Online, APB Reloaded, Warframe, World of Tanks, Smite, Killer Instinct, Battle Ages and Pinball FX are just some of the titles available in the Xbox Store at no charge. Others are coming down the road too, Star Trek Online was confirmed for Xbox One earlier this year.

To be clear, these games don’t have cover charges because they have in-app purchases. This means that users can purchase power-ups and character add-ons. Star Trek Online offers more inventory slots and better ships for captains, for example.

How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games: EA Access

Available only on Windows PCs and the Xbox One, EA Access is a digital subscription service for games. Electronic Arts adds titles to the service’s Vault that include their DLC and any content add-ons. Instead of paying for the entire game, you simply pay the $4.99 a month the service costs.

Read: Is EA Access on Xbox One Worth Buying?

Dragon Age Inquisition, Madden NFL 16 and Battlefield Hardline are just some of the games available within the Vault. The subscription also includes a 10% discount on games made by EA that you’d like to purchase out-right through the Xbox Store.

How to Get Cheap & Free Xbox One Games: Xbox One Backwards Compatibility

Microsoft’s Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program is perhaps the best way to get free or discounted games. Thanks to the program, you can take some of your library from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One at no additional charge.

Read: Xbox One Backwards Compatibility – What You Need to Know

Simply insert your game disc and the Xbox One checks to see if it’s in the program. If it is, the console downloads a digital version that’s been updated to work on Xbox One. Any digital games that you purchased on the Xbox 360 that are in the program show up in your list of installable games automatically.

Through the Xbox Store, you can purchase Xbox 360 games in the program on the cheap too; and Microsoft is always adding more games to the program.

Good luck finding cheap and free Xbox One games.