Microsoft is giving away free goodies to celebrate a year of Xbox One!
Celebrate good times, come on! Microsoft recently celebrated the 13th birthday of the original Xbox, but now it is time to celebrate yet another birthday. You see, the newest console from the company, the Xbox One, will be turning a year old this Saturday.
Normally, people give gifts to the person celebrating a birthday, but today Microsoft is going in a different direction. If you are an Xbox One owner, it is time to get very excited -- Microsoft will be giving all of you gifts! However, the fun does not stop there; the company will also randomly be giving away games to owners too.
"Saturday, November 22, marks the official one year anniversary of Xbox One. It’s been an unbelievable year, but we never would have gotten to this point without our incredible fans. We want to thank you for being a part of an amazing 12 months by celebrating with you all weekend long", says Larry Hryb, Microsoft.
Hryb lists the following freebies that all Xbox One owners will get starting this Friday:
- A Year One Gamer Picture
- New Xbox One backgrounds: A special Year One background as well as an exclusive Day One background for those who unlocked the Day One achievement
- A Year One background image for use on Twitter, your desktop, etc.
- A free rental of "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn" (for a limited time)
- A free rental of "Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods" movie and a sampler pack of "Dragon Ball Z" TV episodes (for a limited time, available in the U.S. and Canada only)
The following will be given away at random:
- Xbox One Limited Edition Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Bundle
- Xbox One Special Edition Sunset Overdrive Bundle
- One month membership for Xbox One-exclusive EA Access service
- Tiger Shark cash card for Grand Theft Auto V, worth $200,000 in-game GTA Online dollars
- Forza gift pack with Forza RallyCross hat, Lamborghini Huracán 1/24 scale replica, and Xbox One Controller (launch team edition) signed by Tanner Foust, host of Top Gear America, Global RallyCross champion and professional stunt driver
- Forza Horizon 2 Limited Edition Casio G-Shock Men’s Black Multi-Function Digital Sports Watch
- Grand Theft Auto V gift pack with the Los Santos Sheriff Trucker cap, Michael, Franklin and Trevor Posters, and a Grand Theft Auto V sticker pack
- Xbox Live Gold 12-month membership digital code
- Killer Instinct Season 1 Combo Breaker Pack, the retail version of Killer Instinct Xbox One’s first season and includes all eight season one characters: Jago, Sabrewulf, Glacius, Thunder, Sadira, Orchid, and Spinal. Also includes Fulgore DLC character.
- Special limited edition Nissan 370Z, featuring a custom Casio livery for Forza Horizon 2
- Air Vehicle shortcut for Battlefield 4 for immediate access to all available unlocks for helicopters and jets available in the main Battlefield 4 game
- Arno’s French Rapier for Assassin’s Creed Unity to improve your combat skills
- 75 Platinum in Warframe
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Costume Pack for Peggle 2
- Epic Quest Table in Pinball FX2
- Dance Central Spotlight (full game token)
- Project Spark Premium – 15 days: Grants 2x gain of Spark XP, credits, and champion XP, as well as the ability to purchase new token-only content for earned in-game credits
Unfortunately, these deals are only available to consumers who bought an Xbox One between 11/22/13 - 11/11/14. In other words, recent purchasers are out of luck and you can't run out and buy the console today to get the freebies. If you bought the console after 11/11, I can understand your potential anger. With that said, I can't fault Microsoft for this, as I'm sure they need time to compile the list of eligible owners and prepare for the giveaway. Plus, how can you get mad at a company for doing something nice?
Photo Credit: Aigars Reinholds / Shutterstock