‘Banner Saga 2,’ ‘Tron: Evolution’ free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in July

By Danny Cowan June 28, 2016

Xbox - July Games with Gold

Indie developer Stoic’s tactical role-playing game The Banner Saga 2 will make its Xbox One debut in July as a free download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, Microsoft announced Tuesday.

The Banner Saga 2 headlines next month’s Games With Gold lineup, joining other promised freebies like Tron: Evolution and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.

Funded by a successful Kickstarter project, Stoic’s The Banner Saga premiered in 2014 for PC platforms and mobile devices. Like the original game in the series, The Banner Saga 2 features a branching storyline that changes depending on the choices players make in battle and in conversations with their party members.

Xbox One owners with an active Xbox Live Gold subscription will get an early look at the console version of The Banner Saga 2 when it premieres as a free download via Games With Gold on July 1. The Banner Saga 2 was previously released for Windows and Mac platforms via Steam, and a PlayStation 4 edition will launch on July 5.

Also premiering as a free Games With Gold download next month is Tumblestone, an Xbox One competitive puzzler that Microsoft compares to genre classics like Tetris and Puyo Puyo. Initially slated for release across multiple consoles and PC platforms, Tumblestone will debut as an Xbox One exclusive on July 16, and Gold subscribers can pick up a copy free of charge until August 15.

Xbox 360 titles available as part of next month’s Games With Gold lineup include Ubisoft’s tactical first-person shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and Disney’s Tron: Evolution, an action game featuring a storyline that ties into the 2010 film Tron: Legacy.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will be free to download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers between July 1 and July 15, while Tron: Evolution will be up for grabs from July 16-31. Both games are playable on legacy Xbox 360 consoles and on the Xbox One via the platform’s backward compatibility feature.

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