January 20, 2017

Xbox Store Countdown Sale Week 2 Deals Live, 'Alien: Isolation' And More For A Song

The second week of the Xbox Store Countdown sale began Tuesday, December 29, with more deals in Microsoft's "biggest sale ever" for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. There are some solid deals for newer and older titles such as Alien: Isolation, Rainbow Six: Siege, Shovel Knight, Fallout 4, and much more.

The current set of deals that went live today will run through the end of the sale on January 7, 2016. Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale discounts will be valid through January 4. There are also daily deals that will run until December 31, 2015.

Xbox LIVE Gold members will get the best deals, with discounts up to 85 percent off select games. And really, you'll want a subscription anyways, as it is necessary to play and enjoy a large number of Xbox One titles. Membership costs $60 for 12 months, or $25 for three. However, a year-long membership can frequently be found between $30 and $40 for deal hunters.

Shop our end of season sale before the season slips away: https://t.co/GWZ7ZdKl7e [E-M] pic.twitter.com/xdRHEPd7KS
— Xbox (@Xbox) December 27, 2015

This post will be updated with the daily deals for the Xbox Store Countdown sale every day. Here are the current offers.

December 31 (final day)

Outlast (Xbox One) - $6.60
Outlast: Bundle of Terror (Xbox One) - $9.57
Dying Light (Xbox One) - $25.00
Dead Island Riptide (Xbox 360) - $2.99
Escape Dead Island (Xbox 360) - $3.99

There are a couple of things to consider with the Xbox One Countdown Store sale. The first is to think about the option of going with the EA Access subscription versus purchasing some of the Electronic Arts published titles that are discounted, such as EA Sports UFC and even NHL 16, which is headed to the services Vault in the next couple of months.

Some of the best pickups for the Xbox One include Alien: Isolation – The Collection for just $10. This title provides some extremely tense moments for horror fans. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is also marked down to $24, and now is a good time to grab Gears of War Ultimate Edition, as the chance to get the four Xbox 360 editions of the series for free is running out soon.

The newer games on sale include Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Rainbow Six: Siege for just under $50. Meanwhile, Kojima's swan song for Konami, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is $40.

Ultra-cheap deals include Platinum Games' The Legend of Korra for only $4.95, Terraria for $6.60. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition should get a strong look for only $9.90, along with Octodad: Deadliest Catch and Shovel Knight at only $10.04.

[Image via Bethesda]Meanwhile, the discounted games to possibly avoid include Prototype: Biohazard Bundle and Payday 2. Support from the developer on the latter has been spotty, while the former was a quick and dirty port from the Xbox 360.

Those looking for backwards compatible games on the Xbox One get a selection that is dominated by Gears of War with the final three games in the series on sale for $10 each. Meanwhile, the excellent Castle Crashers is on sale for $4.95, and real-time strategy title Supreme Commander 2 is $9.90.

Here are the Deals with Gold titles that will run through January 4, 2016.

Disney 3.0 Edition - $15.00
FIFA 16 Deluxe Edition - $28.00
Kaiju Panic - $11.19
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition - $3.74
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege - $49.79
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Gold Edition - $67.49

The following is the Xbox Countdown deals that will be available until January 7, 2016. Note that the price listed is for Xbox LIVE Gold users. Non-Gold Xbox owners will pay up to 10 percent more.