'Free play day' Xbox One game promo was a mistake, says Microsoft

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But was it an on-purpose one?

Xbox One Free Play Day with Gold
Microsoft has yet to comment on the feature seen here

Update: Unfortunately for Xbox One owners looking for free, limited-time game trials, the circumstances surrounding the "Free Play Day with Gold" posting have been called into question.

"A promotional tile for 'Max: Curse of the Brotherhood' was posted briefly on the US dash in error yesterday," a Microsoft spokesperson told Game Informer. "We apologize for any inconvenience. We're constantly exploring different ways to offer more benefits to our Xbox Live Gold members and will keep them updated when special offers become available."

Think of the possibilities

For one thing the Xbox One has been criticized for not offering demos for all its games like the Xbox 360 before it.

Microsoft letting users test games out for a certain number of hours could solve that problem. Although that may not be the direction this "Free Play Day" is going, considering it's only for Xbox Live Gold members and applies to just a single game at this time, at least there's a system in place that could allow for more down the road.

But here's another possibility: Microsoft might one day fill the gaping hole that the death of Blockbuster left in our hearts and let users rent digital games for a set period of time, like Sony has started to do with PlayStation Now.

Whatever Microsoft decides to do with its newfound power to unlock games for set time periods, it's curious that the company hasn't mentioned this when talking about the many new Xbox One features coming in future updates. Even the Xbox Support Twitter account seems clueless.

Join the party

Other platforms, including Sony's PS3 and Steam, already offer timed full game unlocks.

On PS3, they're available for some games to PlayStation Plus members, though there's no indication yet of that feature is coming to PS4.

We contacted Microsoft to get the scoop on its new Free Play Day feature, which if it pans out should please fans looking for more options on Xbox One. We'll provide an update if we hear back.

In fact, the only people who won't appreciate the feature are the developers of games that can be completed within 24 hours.

Via Eurogamer

Michael Rougeau
Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.