Games with Gold will be back in December with four more games, but I have questions about the future of this service given the recent Xbox Series X|S launch and the expected end of Xbox Live Gold.

First, the games. Nothing special really:

The Raven Remastered (Normally $29.99). Available December 1 to 31

Bleed 2 (Normally $14.99). Available December 16 to January 15

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (Normally $14.99). Available December 1 to 15

Stacking (Normally $14.99). Available December 16 to 31

So … Hm.

Games with Gold is a perk of the Xbox Live Gold subscription, but with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now including that subscription, it’s a perk of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate too. I expect Games with Gold to disappear by this time next year, or perhaps only be made available via Game Pass, so perhaps Games with Gold can continue beyond that.

More important, perhaps, only two of the games we get each month are Xbox One games; the other two are usually Xbox 360 games, but we sometimes even seen an OG Xbox game in there. Those older consoles are getting a bit long in the tooth: The Xbox 360 was replaced seven years ago, after all. Does Games with Gold evolve to only (or usually) provide newer (Xbox One+) games? Or is Games with Gold on the way out too?

I’d love to get some clarity from Microsoft on this.