The final Games with Gold titles of 2021 have been announced, and it's a fairly good bunch. In December, Microsoft is delivering the four bonus games to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members.
As usual, the games are split into two waves, and they contain an Xbox One and an Xbox 360 game each. Backward compatibility support (which recently returned for one last hurrah) ensures all of them are playable on the Xbox One family and the latest generation Xbox Series X|S consoles as well.
Here are the announced titles, their platforms, and available dates:
The Escapists 2: Available December 1 to 31 (Xbox One)
The Ultimate Prison Sandbox! Risk it all to breakout from the toughest prisons in the world. Explore the biggest prisons yet, with multiple floors, roofs, vents and underground tunnels. You’ll have to live by the prison rules, attending roll call, doing prison jobs and following strict routines, all the while secretly engineering your bid for freedom!
Tropico 5 – Penultimate Edition: Available December 16 to January 15 (Xbox One)
Return to the remote island nation of Tropico in the next installment of the critically acclaimed and hugely popular ‘dictator sim’ series. Expand your Dynasty’s reign from the early colonial period to beyond the 21st Century, facing an all-new set of challenges, including advanced trading mechanics, technology and scientific research, exploration and multiplayer modes.
Orcs Must Die!: Available December 1 to 15 (Xbox 360)
Slice them, burn them, skewer them, and launch them - no matter how you get it done, orcs must die in this fantasy action-strategy game from Robot Entertainment.As a powerful War Mage with dozens of deadly weapons, spells, and traps at your fingertips, defend twenty-four fortresses from a rampaging mob of beastly enemies, including ogres, hellbats, and of course, a whole bunch of ugly orcs.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet: Available December 16 to 31 (Xbox 360)
In this Insanely Twisted, 2-D action-adventure game, explore unique environments and battle bizarre creatures as you make your way toward the center of the mysterious Shadow Planet! Solve complex puzzles and upgrade your ship with alien technology as you fight to save your home world.
For those who missed the November Games with Gold, there is still time left on some of the titles before their promotional free periods expire. This means Moving Out, Kingdom Two Crowns, and Lego Batman 2 DC Super Heroes are still up for grabs.