Calico, Saint’s Row 2, and Monaco round out the list
Microsoft announced the four Xbox Games with Gold selections for August 2022, and you know what? It’s better than it has been lately. (A caveat-filled summary, to be sure.) During the month, Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can nab Calico, ScourgeBringer, Saint’s Row 2, and Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine at no extra cost.
Do you recognize these games? For once, I knew them all.
Calico is a community life sim game centered on a cat cafe, which is a cute premise. On the flip side, we’ve got ScourgeBringer, a frantic action roguelite game that I’d recommend playing if you aren’t too burnt out on the genre — it’s fun for a bit. Due to its balanced tone, Saint’s Row 2 is the fan-favorite entry depending on who you ask, and Monaco is a still-pretty-unique co-op heist game that’s getting a sequel all these years later.
When to claim the games in August
- Calico (August 1–31)
- ScourgeBringer (August 16–September 15)
- Saint’s Row 2 (August 1–15)
- Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine (August 16–31)
Earlier this month, Microsoft said it would stop including Xbox 360 games in its usual Games with Gold rollouts — the company has “reached the limit” in terms of 360 games to give out, presumably due to partner interest. Starting in October 2022, Games with Gold will focus on “Xbox One titles and exclusive savings each month.”
It’s nice to avoid repeats, but I hope this is more of a positive shakeup and less of a value reduction. In some ways, it’s surprising that Games with Gold is still around in a post-Game-Pass world. If you’re in the habit, keep hoarding these games while you still can.
And if you revisit Saint’s Row 2, spray a building for me, would ya?
