Microsoft gives away The Witcher 2 as part of Xbox One backward compatibility update

By Danny Cowan Published January 21, 2016

The Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt RED’s open-world RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is free to download for a limited time as part of Microsoft’s latest backward compatibility update for the Xbox One.

All Xbox Live members, regardless of Xbox Live Gold subscription status, can download The Witcher 2 free of charge starting today and extending through next month in select regions.

Related: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review

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Released in 2011, The Witcher 2 puts players in control of the heroic Geralt of Rivia in a fantasy-themed open-world adventure. Last year saw the long-awaited release of a sequel, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which Digital Trends subsequently named its Game of the Year for 2015.

The Witcher 2 is now playable on the Xbox One for the first time as part of Microsoft’s latest backward compability update. Other recent additions to the Xbox One’s backward compatibility list include the Xbox Live Arcade titles Sam & Max Save the World, Aegis Wing, Counter-Strike: GO, Age of Booty, Space Giraffe, Soulcalibur, Skullgirls, Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad, and Small Arms.

More than 120 legacy Xbox 360 retail games and Xbox Live Arcade releases are now downloadable and playable on Xbox One consoles via backward compatibility. Though Microsoft initially planned to roll out Xbox One backward compatibility updates in monthly bundles, Xbox Wire’s staff now notes that “we’ll release titles as they become available, rather than a set monthly launch date.”

Xbox Wire continues: “What this means for you is that you won’t have to wait to find out the latest titles; we’ll release whatever is available, when they’re available, once each title has received the engineering and publisher stamp of approval.”

The Xbox 360 Games on Demand version of The Witcher 2 is currently free to download via xbox.com in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Players in these regions can pick up a copy via xbox.com between now and February 5.

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