Xbox is narrowing the focus of its monthly Games with Gold reward programme, which gives a few games a month to subscribers of Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate.

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It has started to inform subscribers via email that it will no longer be offering Xbox 360 games as part of the package, from October 2022. There will still be regular additions from the Xbox One library, though.

In some ways, it's less of a surprise that Xbox is stopping this part of the service, and more shocking that it's still been giving out Xbox 360 games to this point, some 17 years on from the console's release.

Microsoft has issued a statement on the matter to VGC, saying "We have reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalogue from the past due to licensing and technical constraints. We will continue to focus on providing Xbox One titles through the Games with Gold program."

In the era of Xbox Game Pass, it feels increasingly like Games with Gold is a bit of an afterthought, with more and more obscure titles being added to its roster each month, while bigger headline-grabbing games arrive on Game Pass.

Microsoft's long-term goal is likely to convert anyone still subscribing simply to Xbox Live Gold over to Game Pass, especially since it has stopped offering year-long passes for Gold.