Have you just bought a brand new Xbox One and are you looking forward to downloading your favorite games but you’re not sure how to do it? Have you heard that there is a possibility to get free titles from the Xbox store but you don’t know how to do it? In this case, don’t worry: let me clarify all your doubts.
If you’re wondering how to download free games on Xbox One, you’ll find all the information you need in the course of this guide. I’ll first make you aware of what are the preliminary operations necessary to achieve this goal, after which I’ll show you step by step how to accomplish this task. Finally, I’ll show you how to remotely download Xbox One games from your computer.
What do you say? Are you eager to get started and can’t wait to learn more? Then sit back and take a few minutes of your precious free time to read this tutorial. I’m sure that by following the directions I’m about to give you, you’ll succeed easily and quickly in the intent that you have proposed. Are you ready to start? Are you? Very well! There’s nothing left to do but to wish you a good reading, a good download, and, above all, a lot of fun!
Preliminary steps
Before explaining to you how to download games for free on Xbox One, I have to show you how to perform some preliminary steps necessary to achieve this goal. First of all, you should know that, to download games from the console’s store, you must have a Microsoft account and that, in addition, this must be connected to the Xbox.
To connect your Microsoft account to Xbox One, first turn on the console and press the Xbox button on the controller, so you can enter, in the text fields that are shown, the data (email address and password) of your Microsoft account.
If you get an error message, check that your Xbox is properly connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable.
In the first case, to do this, press the Configure wireless network button located in the Settings > Network > Network settings menu. Otherwise, you must make sure that one end of the Ethernet cable is connected to your home router and the other to the corresponding port located on the back of the Microsoft console.
In addition, I would like to inform you of the Xbox Live Gold service: this is a monthly subscription that, at a cost of 6.99€/month, allows you to play video games in online multiplayer mode (free-to-play games can also be played without a subscription).
In addition, the purchase of this subscription also allows you to download for free every month some video games for Xbox One and Xbox 360, although to play them you must continue to have the active subscription.
However, some solutions allow you to get the Xbox Live Gold subscription for free, such as activating a trial period usually included in some bundles.
Download games for free on Xbox One
Let’s now move on to the practical part of this guide and see, together, how to download free video games on Xbox One.
- First, go to the Microsoft Store by clicking on the Store item on the console’s home screen.
- Then, go to the Game Explorer section or, if you already know what free game you want to download, select the magnifying glass icon and then type in the name of the game of your interest.
- By clicking on the Games Explorer, instead, you can refer to the Most Popular Free Games section, to find the free video game you want to download among the most popular ones of the moment.
- Have you found the title of your interest? Great! Click on its preview image and then install it by pressing the Get button.
- Once the download is complete, the downloaded game will be visible in the My Games and Apps section, which can be reached by clicking on the icon of the same name located on the Xbox One’s Home screen. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?
Download free games for Xbox One from PC
To download free games on Xbox One you can also proceed from your computer, thus performing the remote installation of a title on the Microsoft home console, through the Microsoft Store website.
- Make sure that your console is connected to the Internet, then set the console in Instant Power mode, so you can install games remotely when the console is on standby.
- To do this, press the Xbox button on the controller to open the Panel and reach the gear icon. Then, press the Settings item to open the relevant section.
- Now, select Power and Startup > Power and Startup Mode and, on the next screen that will be shown to you, press Power Save Mode to select the Instant Power-On option.
- After that, you need to enable the installation of games in remote mode, as this option is disabled by default on the Microsoft console.
- First press the Xbox button on the controller to open the Panel, then go to Settings > System > Updates and Downloads. Now, on the screen that is shown to you, select the Allow remote installation option.
- At this point, to download a free game to your Xbox One from your PC, go to the Microsoft Store website in the section dedicated to digitally available games.
- Then, on the screen that will be shown to you, locate the free games by clicking on the Most Popular Free heading on the left.
- Then, choose the game you want to download and click on its cover image. Then click on the Get button.
- To proceed, sign in to your Microsoft account by entering the login information (email and password) for the same account connected to the Xbox console and press the Next button to continue.
- Then, in the video game tab that will be shown to you, press the Install on my devices button. Then, select your Xbox One by ticking the checkmark on the item of the same name and finally click the Install Now button.
- The downloaded games will be visible in the My Games and Apps section of the Xbox One console, which can be reached by clicking on the icon of the same name located on the Xbox One home screen. Easy, right?