For those that may ever wonder if paying $60 every year for being a Xbox Live Gold member would be worth it, we have an answer. Here’s a list made by Polygon that sums up all the games that were offered during 2015 with the price that you would need to pay to get them every month. Polygon found that Microsoft gave away more established titles than the competition.
If you were an old Xbox Live member or new member since the beginning of this year and grabbed every single game that was offered for both Xbox consoles, your $60 investment has a return of $946.53 in games. As Polygon states in its article, “This monetary figure counts the same title on multiple platforms only once. (For example, a game on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One that costs $20 on each platform counts only $20 toward this total, not $40.) The prices are only for the digital versions of the games that were listed on Xbox Marketplace on December 5.
JANUARY
• Dark Dreams Don’t Die (Xbox One)
• MX vs. ATV Alive (Xbox 360)
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Xbox 360)
Total value: $64.97
FEBRUARY
• #IDARB (Xbox One)
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Xbox 360)
• Sniper Elite V2 (Xbox 360)
Total value: $59.97
MARCH
• Rayman Legends (Xbox One)
• Tomb Raider (Xbox 360)
• BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360)
Total value: $69.97
APRIL
• Pool Nation FX (Xbox One)
• Child of Light (Xbox One)
• Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)
• Terraria (Xbox 360)
• Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (Xbox 360)
• Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel (Xbox 360)
Total value: $108.94
MAY
• CastleStorm: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
• Mafia 2 (Xbox 360)
• F1 2013 (Xbox 360)
(Pool Nation FX was extended from April so it does not count for the total value of the month)
Total value: $88.96
JUNE
• Massive Chalice (Xbox One)
• Just Cause 2 (Xbox 360)
• Thief (Xbox 360)
(Pool Nation FX was extended from May so it does not count for the total value of the month)
Total value: $78.96
JULY
• Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (Xbox One)
• So Many Me (Xbox One)
• Plants vs. Zombies (Xbox 360)
• Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)
Total value: $79.96
AUGUST
• Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes (Xbox One)
• How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition (Xbox One)
• Metro 2033 (Xbox 360)
• Metro: Last Light (Xbox 360)
Total value: $79.96
SEPTEMBER
• The Deer God (Xbox One)
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
• Battlestations Pacific (Xbox 360)
• Crysis 3 (Xbox 360)
Total value: $89.96
OCTOBER
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Xbox One)
• The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season (Xbox One, Xbox 360)
• Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (Xbox 360)
Total value: $59.97
NOVEMBER
• Pneuma: Breath of Life (Xbox One)
• Knight Squad (Xbox One)
• Dirt 3 (Xbox One), (Xbox 360)
• Dungeon Siege 3 (Xbox One) (Xbox 360)
(Backward compatibility for Xbox 360 Games with Gold titles begins on Xbox One)
Total value: 79.96
DECEMBER
• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (Xbox One)
• Thief (Xbox One)
• CastleStorm (Xbox 360)
• Sacred 3 (Xbox 360)
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Xbox 360)
Total value: $84.95
To finish this list up here are some number facts on the list presented above:
• Average game price:$20.37
• Total game value: $946.53
• Xbox 360 average game price: $21.60 per title
• Xbox One average game price: $18.08
• Highest price Xbox 360 game: F1 2013 ($39.99)
• Highest price Xbox One games: Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Thief ($29.99)
• Lowest price Xbox 360 game: CastleStorm and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising ($9.99)
• Lowest price Xbox One game: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising ($9.99)
PRICE RANGES ON BOTH CONSOLES:
• $25 and up: 8 titles
• $20 to $24.99: 5
• $15 to $19.99: 21
• $10 to $14.99: 13
• $5 to $9.99: 3
• $4.99 and under: 0
Source: Polygon
João is a games journalist, Senior Editor at XDA Developers. They contributed 156 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: previously reported for Neowin before joining XDA Developers in 2021, where he leads coverage of Windows, Microsoft, and hardware.