Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Halo Wars 2 will be free durung the Xbox Live Gold Free Play Days event, which begins Thursday, February 21 at 12:01 a.m. PT and runs through to Sunday, February 24 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

To download on console, click on the Gold member area on the home dashboard on your Xbox One.

The games are also available at a discount so you can continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned in-game.

• Halo Wars: Definitive Edition ($19.99 SRP) at 50% off: $10.00
• Halo Wars 2
  • Standard Edition ($39.99 SRP) at 50% off: $20.00
  • Complete Edition ($59.99 SRP) at 50% off: $30.00

Halo Wars 2

Halo Wars 2 features a robust, story-driven campaign and plenty of multiplayer action. While we’re not talking about the game’s story (or where it takes place in the Halo timeline) just yet, we are very excited about the way it contributes to the expanding Halo universe, and we look forward to sharing more in the future.

The last time we saw the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire in Halo Wars, they were settling in for a long cryosleep on their way home, knowing that with a little luck, they’d make it back to civilized space in one piece. Nearly 30 years later, they’re awakened to a new threat to the Halo universe and find themselves as the one thing standing between hope and annihilation. Halo Wars 2 will take you back to the Ark, introduce new heroes and villains, and deliver a new multiplayer mode that has the potential to push the real-time strategy genre forward.

Beyond the terrain and the world in which Halo Wars 2 takes place, its compliment of heroes and villains helps broaden the world. And because the UNSC Spirit of Fire and its crew are essentially in a place out of time, having been asleep for 28 years, they’ve missed all of the recent events that the Master Chief was a part of. This creates a unique setting for new players to the series, as they will be learning about the state of the universe alongside the crew of the Fire.

Halo Wars Definitive Edition

Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the legendary Halo universe. Players will command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Halo Wars will immerse gamers in an early period of the storied “Halo” universe, allowing them to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox.

With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (AI) persona, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs and Scorpions against Covenant Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and Scarabs, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.

Features:

• New take on a legendary world. Set in the iconic “Halo” universe, “Halo Wars” predates the original first-person shooter “Halo.” Fans of the “Halo” franchise will have the opportunity to experience the early battles between the UNSC and Covenant, the far-reaching conflict that has been diligently followed by the masses in the blockbuster “Halo” series.
• Players join the crew onboard the Spirit of Fire, a Phoenix-class colony ship converted for UNSC military use and guided by the AI persona Serina. The “Halo Wars” story line follows the Spirit of Fire’s discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the planet Harvest, the first planet to be attacked by the Covenant.
• Strategic command of armies in large-scale combat. “Halo Wars” put gamers in command of the battlefield, playing as either of two unique civilizations: UNSC and Covenant. They can counter and crush their opponent by tactically fielding the superior army. Players can also choose among Leaders that possess elite skills which can turn the tides of battle. Using various combinations of Leaders and units, players can create countless strategies tailored to their preferred playing styles and personalized strategies.
• Groundbreaking strategy game for the Xbox 360. Since inception, “Halo Wars” was explicitly designed to cater to console gamers and bring to the Xbox 360 a genre that has typically been played on the PC. Gamers can easily command and manage powerful armies, effortlessly control troops and incredible machines, engage in epic battles and expand their empire using an intuitive user interface for the Xbox 360. “Halo Wars” represents the true next-generation experience, combining a masterful control scheme using the Xbox 360 Controller with the award-winning strategic gameplay only Ensemble Studios can provide.