Xbox Games with Gold December 2016 free games list news update: Lineup expected this week; four games get backwards compatibility

With December looming over the horizon as November steadily draws to a close, Xbox Live Gold subscribers and other Xbox gamers wonder what free games Microsoft has in store for its Xbox Games with Gold program. Luckily, gamers won't have to wait very long as new reports indicate that Microsoft will be making the announcement for the Games with Gold December lineup this week.

Promo poster for the Xbox Games with Gold November 2016YouTube/Xbox

Though Microsoft has said little about next month's list of free games through the Xbox Games with Gold program, Express predicts that the tech mogul could be making announcements any time between today and Thursday, Nov. 24. Last month, Microsoft made its Games with Gold November lineup announcements on Oct. 24, and if the company was to follow the trend, December's Games with Gold lineup could come out on the 24th as well.

There haven't been any solid predictions as to what games Microsoft could make free for its Games with Gold December lineup. However, after releasing low-key indie games like "Monkey Island: SE" and "Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon" on the Xbox 360, and "Super Dungeon Bros" and "Soul Suspect" on the Xbox One for November, gamers are hoping for a round of AAA games.

Meanwhile, members of Sony's PlayStation (PS) Plus program can also expect an announcement for the PS Plus Free Games December lineup soon. The PS Plus Free Games always get announced a little later after Microsoft's Games with Gold, and prediction has it that PS Plus subscribers are going to get word of the December lineup from Sony next week on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

In other Xbox Live Gold news, Daily Star reports that four games have just been officially added to Microsoft's library for games with backwards compatibility.

These Xbox 360 games made available to Xbox One players through backwards compatibility include "Military Madness," "Dead Space Ignition," "Escape Dead Island," and "Omega Five."