Last week, Microsoft announced that Games for Windows Live was turning into a free service and everybody started to wonder whether the company will do the same with its Xbox Live service, too. It seems that, even though at the moment there's no such thing as "completely free" for Silver members, they do have the option to play cross-platform games (Xbox 360 - Games for Windows only) for free in multiplayer.

On the official Xbox forums, user TFD655321 broke the news when he discovered he could play Shadowrun online, using his Silver account. Other users confirmed it and also said that Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition and Universe at War: Earth Assault are working, too. There are rumors on numerous other games which can be played for free in multiplayer modes, including Halo 3, but we strongly believe they do not become reality.

However, one thing is clear: Silver Xbox Live members can play without paying any tax the releases enjoyed for free by Games for Windows users. It doesn't mean that all Xbox 360 games will get free multiplayer but that seems to be the next thing Microsoft is planning, since everybody keeps asking why should one pay for a service that is free on all the other platforms. Could it be greed?

If so, apparently, that doesn't work: Games for Windows Live is a free service now, since PC users are probably the ones who would never pay for something they deserve for free (and they really did not pay for it, since Microsoft made this change), including multiplayer play and stuff like DLCs and so on. Probably that's one of the reasons why every developer or manufacturer hates PCs so much - it proves that not all free things are of poor quality. But, in the end, that matters less: the most important thing is that Silver Xbox Live users can now enjoy a few of their titles in multiplayer without paying for anything. Way to go, Microsoft!