Red Dead Redemption 2 goes free to download as part of Xbox Game Pass starting May 7.
The blockbuster western, which former Kotaku editor Kirk Hamilton called “exhaustively detailed and exhaustingly beautiful” in his review, is the latest in a series of big games that have recently come to Microsoft’s subscription-based download library. The Witcher 3 was added last December, and earlier this year saw the arrival of Kingdom Hearts III, Nier Automata, and Yakuza 0.
The PS4-equivalent service PlayStation Now has also been beefing up its library. Last month the platform, which allows you to stream games in addition to downloading them, added 2018’s excellent Spider-Man. The competition between Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now has been great for people who don’t necessarily get to high-profile games when they first come out and are willing to wait a year or two.
At the same time, new games coming to the platforms often come at a price, and sure enough Game Pass getting Red Dead Redemption 2 in May means it will also be losing Grand Theft Auto V which was only just added in January.