This weekend those who do not subscribe to Xbox Live Gold can get access it for free. Beginning today and ending on Oct. 12, Xbox Live Gold will be free for everyone, allowing players access to all of the services features.

Besides allowing you to play the multiplayer portion of all those Xbox 360 games you own, you can also download and play a variety of free-to-play games including World of Tanks, AirMech Arena, Happy Wars, and Warface.

A 20-year-old who was charged with lying to investigators (obstruction of justice) about his supporting role in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, tried to defend his actions by saying he "was too high" to remember, according to MSN.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that four people have been indicted for allegedly breaching the computer systems of several video game companies and the US military, and stealing software worth over $100 million.

Microsoft announced the free game giveaways for the month of October as part of its ongoing "Games With Gold" promotion for Xbox One and Xbox 360. Available to anyone who has an Xbox Live Gold account on Xbox 360 or Xbox One, Games With Gold gives away free games on a monthly basis just for being a subscriber.

The free Xbox One game for the month of October is Chariot, an ID@Xbox game from Canadian developers Frima. The game is described as a "couch co-op platformer that can be played alone or with a friend."

The U.S. District Court in Seattle Washington has tossed out Mendoza v. Microsoft, a case filed in 2013 over alleged violations of privacy by Microsoft on its Xbox Live service for Xbox 360. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman threw the case out on Thursday on the grounds that plaintiffs lacked legal standing and largely based their allegations on what the court categorized as "conjecture" about Microsoft's privacy policies.

A Bloomberg report citing three individuals with knowledge of the deal, claims that Microsoft is in talks with Marcus Persson to buy Minecraft maker Mojang AB for an estimated $2 billion.

With Minecraft finally hitting Xbox One today and PlayStation 4 yesterday, we thought it would be a good idea to post a video and a link explaining how PS3 and Xbox 360 users of the game can upgrade over to the game's next-generation counterparts.

First, for those who own the PS3 version of the game and want to upgrade to the PS4 versions, we point you to this PlayStation Blog post explaining how to make that happen. The process is pretty simple and straightforward.

Microsoft has revamped its Xbox Live Rewards program, adding some new ways for players to earn credits for things they likely already do on Xbox One and Xbox 360. One of the changes is a new star system, which gives players higher rebate rates on purchases. You'll have to spend a fair amount of money buying things to earn stars, though - for example, members who spend $150 annually will earn one star. The star offers a one percent rebate. You can get up to five percent by earning stars, though Xbox Live Gold members will see that percentage amount doubled.

Digital Extremes has launched Warframe on the Xbox One console worldwide today. Warframe is the first free-to-play game to be released through the ID@Xbox indie game development program. Digital Extremes' game is a third-person action game set in an evolving multiplayer sci-fi world.

Microsoft has revealed September's Games With Gold freebies for Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Beginning Sept. 1, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can score Super Time Force on Xbox One and Monaco: What's Yours is Mine for their Xbox 360. Crimson Dragon, which is currently free on Xbox One, will remain available in Sept. as well. Starting September 16, Halo: Reach for Xbox 360 will be downloadable at no cost until the end of the month.

A new deal between Mojang, BBC, and Microsoft Studios will bring a number of Doctor Who-themed characters and assets to the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft. The content will come as part of several DLC skin packs for the game (yes, you'll have to buy them).

"We’re constantly looking for new and innovative ways to bring Doctor Who content to our loyal fans," Digital Entertainment and Games Director at BBC Worldwide UK Rikesh Desai said.

Sony announced via the PlayStation Blog that the online service for its game consoles, PlayStation Network, is back online after a day-long outage caused by a targeted distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. PSN and Sony Entertainment Network returned to service at 3 a.m. ET. A statement on the PlayStation Blog from Sony explained that the system was taken offline because of the DDoS attack.

In addition to Arkane Studios' hit game Dishonored being available for free on Xbox Live for Xbox 360 until the end of the month, it is also available for free play on Steam all weekend. Borderlands 2 is also available during the weekend as a free play game.

The first-person stealth action game is playable for free until Sunday at 1pm Pacific Time (4pm Eastern Time). During that same period, you can buy the game for 75 percent off its regular price. The regular version will cost you $5, while the Game of the Year version is $10.19.

Free-to-play Xbox 360 online game Ascend: Hand of Kul has been removed from the Xbox Marketplace by Microsoft, according to developer Signal Studios. Signal Studios said in a post on the company's web site that Microsoft removed the game over the weekend. Why it was taken offline is unknown as of this writing.

Who needs a demo when you can allow consumers to play a game for an extended amount of time and turn that experience into an actual purchase? According to this Reddit screen grab after the latest Xbox One system update, Microsoft is trying out 24-hour trials with a select few game titles.

Max The Curse of Brotherhood was one of the titles available to download under the label entitled Free Play Day with Gold.

According to a Hollywood Reporter report, Microsoft is in talks to sell its Xbox Entertainment Studios division to Warner Bros. According to the report, the preliminary negotiations between the two companies are focusing on merging Xbox Entertainment Studios with Machinima, which Warner Bros. bought a stake in earlier this year. Machinima has worked with Xbox in the past; it helped distribute the Halo 4 spin-off Forward Unto Dawn.

Microsoft held its Gamescom Xbox press conference in Cologne, Germany today, laying out a roadmap for the games, entertainment and services that are in the pipeline. We have the cliff notes below:

EA Access, EA's all-you-can-consume games subscription plan for Xbox One, does not require an Xbox Live Gold account. EA confirmed the news but emphasized the fact that Xbox Live Gold will still be required for individual game features such as multiplayer. Of course that won't stop Xbox Live Silver users from obtaining the games and worrying about non-functional features later.

EA Access is not the first service to be available outside of Xbox Live Gold; Microsoft Netflix and other entertainment apps became available outside gold membership in June.

New month, new games for you to download for free (well, if you have a PlayStation Plus subscription or an Xbox Live Gold account). Beginning today Xbox Live Gold subscribers can download three of the four games that are part of Microsoft's Games With Gold free-game-giveaway program. From now until August 15 you can grab Motorcross Madness for Xbox 360 for free. You can also get some cool Xbox Avatar off-road gear from the game. Xbox One owners can grab either Crimson Dragon or Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut. On August 16 Xbox 360 owners can score Dishonored.

If you are having problems with your Xbox Live account / Xbox 360 games, you are not alone. According to an alert put out by Xbox support, the company says that it is aware of issues with some Xbox Live users not having access to "all game features" and is working on a fix.

Electronic Arts has announced a new $5-a-month subscription plan with Xbox One that will give those willing to pay a monthly subscription fee access to select Xbox One games. The subscription, which is rolling out in limited beta to select people today, will be available as a monthly or annual subscription.

Microsoft has announced which games it will be giving away for free on Xbox One and Xbox 360 as part of its Games With Gold program. Starting August 1 and running until the 15th, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can download Motocross Madness for free, while Xbox One owners can grab Crimson Dragon and Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut for the entire month.

On August 15, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can download Bethesda's hit stealthy action game, Dishonored for free. They will have until August 31 to grab the game.

To celebrate the launch of QuakeCon this week, Zenimax and Bethesda are offering sales of its most popular games on Steam and Xbox Live.

Headlining the Steam sale is the QuakeCon 2014 Pack, which includes a number of games for $99.99. Those games include Dishonored: Game of the Year, Fallout: Classic Collection, Doom 3: BFG Edition, Doom Classic Complete, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition, and The Elder Scrolls Online: Imperial Edition.

Update: Microsoft has confirmed that - as part of a major staff reduction - it will shut down Xbox Entertainment Studios. Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed the news to Xbox Entertainment Studios staff on Thursday in an email:

According to this Bloomberg report, Microsoft is planning to cut a number of jobs in its Xbox division as part of an overall restructuring plan. Two anonymous sources familiar with the situation have told Bloomberg that overall cuts could end up being the biggest number of layoffs since 2009 when the company laid off 5,800 employees.

Microsoft has updated the Xbox One this week to offer game trials, something it had been lacking and was frequently requested by Xbox One users. On Xbox 360 you can download trials of Xbox Live Arcade titles and play them to decide whether you want to buy them. This simple feature has not been available on Xbox one until now. Users have complained in the past that some ID@Xbox releases have been denied a larger spot on the Xbox One store, only visible at launch in the New Releases section.

A select number of current Xbox 360 users have received an offer from Microsoft via Xbox Live offering them a $75 credit if they purchase an Xbox One from any retailer. How Microsoft is choosing which customers receive this special offer is unknown as of this writing. The promo appears on users' Xbox 360 dashboards and says that it's only for Microsoft's "very best customers."

The offer is for selected Xbox 360 owners in the United States, Canada, and the UK.

The latest Call of Duty DLC lets players show their appreciation of pot. The new "Blunt Force" character pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts is available now for $2 on Xbox platforms and comes with a pot-themed uniform and two headgear options that feature pot leaves.

According to Infinity Ward's description of the pack, it will make your enemies "experience chronic defeat." The "Blunt Force" character pack follows a similar weapon camouflage pack that launched in April which featured marijuana-themed decorations for weapons.

Stephen Toulouse, the former policy and enforcement director at Xbox Live, is once again representing the Microsoft brand with his new job as director of Community Engagement on the upcoming Gears of War game for Xbox One. Toulouse actually joined Black Tusk Studios awhile ago, according to what he wrote on his personal blog.

Microsoft has revealed the Xbox One and Xbox 360 'Games With Gold' titles that will be free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers in July. Starting Tuesday, July 1, Xbox One players will be able to download Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition, replacing June's Halo: Spartan Assault. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood will remain free for another month for Xbox One users.

Xbox 360 owners will get Gotham City Imposters will be available from July 1 until July 15. On July 16 it will be replaced with BattleBlock Theater, which will be free until July 31.