Multiplayer is free on Xbox One consoles for Big Game Weekend event

By Jon Silman Updated August 6, 2020

Microsoft is unlocking multiplayer on all Xbox One consoles starting on August 6 and running through August 10, with an event called the Big Gaming Weekend.

There are no catches, and all players that don’t have Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass will be able to participate.

“We’re unlocking a bunch of games so now is the time to prep your download queue!” Microsoft said in a release.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare multiplayer is available during this period, and players can get a free Call of Duty: Warzone download.

“This weekend, everyone plays! Anybody can enjoy free access to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare multiplayer, Borderlands 3, Dragon Ball Fighterz, and Black Desert on their consoles this weekend,” Microsoft said.

PC players gain access to Gears 5, Subnautica, and Ark: Survival Evolved. The Big Gaming Weekend provides access to six Xbox Game Pass games.

“Your friends don’t have Xbox Game Pass? This weekend everyone gets a taste of Xbox Game Pass with Monster Hunter World, Ark: Survival Evolved, Gears 5, Elder Scrolls Online, Subnautica, and Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, that are free to play,” Microsoft said.

Another notable title is Black Desert, a sandbox MMORPG where players hunt monsters, fight gigantic bosses, and train life skills like fishing, cooking, trading, and crafting.

Microsoft has been steadily pushing Xbox Game Pass, a service that provides access to more than 100 games, as well as all of the benefits of an Xbox Live Gold subscription. The Big Gaming Weekend promotion is part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Summer Mode, an eight-week event featuring perks, games, and rewards points that started on July 24.

Summer Mode features perks like three months of unlimited free deliveries with Postmates Unlimited, as well as the ability to enter a sweepstakes for a golden Xbox One X console.

Big Gaming Weekend runs from midnight August 6, at 12:01 a.m. PT through 12 a.m. PT on August 10. Some games will be locked based on the region.

Here’s the full list of games:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (only multiplayer)
Gears 5
Black Desert
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Monster Hunter World
Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Borderlands 3
Subnautica
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
Ark: Survival Evolved

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Your Xbox Live Gold subscription will turn into Xbox Game Pass Core this September

Microsoft finally made the decision to move on from its monthly online-access subscription service Xbox Live Gold. On September 14, Xbox Live Gold will transform into Xbox Game Pass Core, with current Gold subscribers automatically gaining a Game Pass Core subscription.

An Xbox Live subscription tied to online play has existed in some form since Xbox Live launched in 2002, but Xbox Live Gold as we now know it truly came into form in July 2013 when Microsoft started the Games with Gold program that gave subscribers free games each month in addition to that online access. Although Microsoft rolled back some online restrictions in 2021, Games with Gold continues to this day. That will all end when Game Pass Core launches.

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Xbox Game Pass’ latest addition is a must-try multiplayer shooter

Barrage Exosuit in Exoprimal.

Capcom is known for making excellent single-player adventures, while its history with multiplayer shooters is much more spotty. Exoprimal changes that.
Since the mid-2010s, games like Resident Evil 7, Devil May Cry V, Monster Hunter World, and Street Fighter 6 cemented Capcom as one of the best game publishers out there. Though one area where the company has always struggled is in the lucrative multiplayer shooter market. Titles like Resident Evil Re:Verse, Resident Evil Resistance, and Umbrella Corps just weren't that fun to play and failed to leave much of an impact. That's why I was hesitant following the announcement of Exoprimal, a multiplayer-only PvPvE game about fighting hordes of dinosaurs with Exosuits. Thankfully, after playing it a lot during its betas and some more after its official July 14 launch, I'm happy to say that Exoprimal is Capcom's best modern multiplayer shooter.
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Multiplayer mayhem
The narrative of Exoprimal actually feels somewhat relevant right now due to the rising prevalence of AI. The premise is that Leviathan, the AI behind a giant megacorporation that hires Exosuit fighters to defeat dinosaurs invading from another dimension, goes rogue and forces the player to participate in an endless series of wargames against those dinos and other Exosuit fighters. Fold in some time-travel and dimension-hopping shenanigans, as well as a quirky crew of characters helping players between matches, and you have a game that pokes fun at corporate greed, AI, and questionable workplaces with Capcom's trademark wit. These narrative elements weren't in the prelaunch betas of Exoprimal that I played, so they served as a pleasant surprise now that I'm playing the final version of the game.

Playing Exoprimal at launch affirmed how enjoyable its combat is. Players have 10 Exosuits (and their variants) to choose from, which are separated into Support, Tank, and Assault classes and have distinct abilities, like the heroes in Overwatch. Players can swap between them freely during matches, which have two teams competing to complete a series of objectives at the same time before a final showdown. While I could toggle whether or not I wanted that final objective to feature PvP combat, another team's progress always looming over me added an exciting sense of urgency to each match that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Shooting down hordes of zombies with the Deadeye Exosuit or slicing through them with the Murasame Exosuit's sword was a ton of fun, as were the rare moments where I was able to turn into a dinosaur attacking the enemy team and stall their progress. In a preview of the game last July, I called Exoprimal "a much more robust and inspired multiplayer shooter than I expected." Now that Exoprimal is out, that statement still holds up.
Even just the one Dino Survival mode that's in the game now is doing plenty to keep me entertained as I play to progress the story. Then, once that's done, I'm sure that the progression systems tied to each Exosuit and post-launch editions, like the upcoming cooperative Savage Gauntlet, will keep me coming back to Exoprimal. I haven't even had the chance to play the game with friends yet, which will probably enhance the experience further.

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Marvel Snap running on the OnePlus Nord N30 5G.

The realm of mobile gaming has come a long way since the days when you were lucky if you could play a game of Snake on your brick of a phone. Today, we all have essentially a modern console in our pockets with games that look and play just as good as what is offered on current consoles. Unlike the console or PC space, mobile games have mostly stuck to either being extremely cheap or simply free-to-play. While that sounds great on the surface, it also means that the storefronts are filled with thousands of games looking for your attention, with only a select few worthy of your time. If you're looking for your next mobile go-to with no upfront cost, here are the best free-to-play mobile games you may never delete from your home screen.

Honkai: Star Rail