Xbox Live Games With Gold for February and March 2016; Is a Sherlock Holmes Game Coming in March?

Feb 19, 2016 08:43 AM EST

Of course, Microsoft's Games with Gold subscribers look forward to all of the free games that come with each month turnover.  That is especially true if these games are available for backward compatibility for the Xbox One/Xbox 360.  Now that we are in the middle of February, some of the games can be still be played for free, and there are rumors of the games coming in March. 

According to Gamepur, one of the free games from the Xbox Games with Gold program has been revealed.  A Twitter user named Cameron posted an image of it and then said that it was taken down. 

The game is Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments.  The game is six cases, and they are self-contained, as accomplishments in one case do not affect the others.  Some the cases are direct adaptations of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle source material and include:

  • The Fate of Black Peter
  • The Riddle on the Rails
  • The Blood Bath
  • The Abbey Grange Affair
  • The Kew Gardens Drama
  • The Half Moon Affair

This is yet another rumor of what free game is to come for the Games with Gold program, as often the program likes to release games related to upcoming game franchise release dates.  For example, the last rumor that was heard was for Doom 3.  Considering that Doom is making a comeback soon, that seems somewhat reasonable.  After all, Deus Ex: Human Evolution was available for free last January, and it will have a new iteration to the Deus Ex series later this year. 

As for the Sherlock Holmes game, the only thing remotely relating to that happened at the beginning of January with The Abominable Bride.  So we will have to wait to see if this report from Twitter user Cameron is accurate.  In the meantime, these are the games that are still available for the month of February.

Hand of Fate will be available all month from February 1-29.  This game involves the player in visiting some fortune teller who is using magical Tarot cards to put the player in a real life (within the context of the game) Role Playing Game (RPG). 

A game available for players of the Xbox One is Styx: Master of Shadows.  It begins on February 16th and goes until March 15th.  According to the game's Steam entry, the game is named after Styx, the main character of the game who is a two-hundred-year-old Goblin, with a lot of fantasy RPG elements. 

Xbox 360 players will then be given a special treat with Gears of War 2, available from February 16-29.  Unlike all the other free games for this month, which take place in a very fantasy or alternate medieval history, Gears of War 2 takes place in the future.