Xbox Store Countdown sale includes Final Fantasy 15, a month of Gold for $1, and it starts Thursday

Microsoft will match its holiday discounts on Xbox One bundles with digital deals across the Xbox Store. The Countdown event will stretch from December 22 to January 9 with up to 60 percent off on games including Battlefield 1, Final Fantasy 15, and Watch Dogs 2. There'll also be discounts on non-game things from the store like music and movies.

As usual, Xbox Live Gold members will get extra discounts on games. But if you're not already a subscriber, you can sign up for a month of Xbox Live Gold for $1 from December 21 through January 9. That could easily pay for itself on the first purchase you make, not to mention other benefits like online multiplayer and Xbox Live Games with Gold.

The Countdown sale will include both daily and weekly deals, which at the very least is a decent excuse to get out of awkward family conversations over the holidays. "Sorry uncle, gotta go check out the Xbox deals before they change over!"

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I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar+.