Microsoft is giving Xbox Live Gold members an early Christmas gift via the December Games with Gold lineup. This means two new games on the Xbox One and three in the Xbox 360. And this is all on top of the now available backward compatibility feature for over 100 Xbox 360 games playable on the Xbox One.

Over at Major Nelson’s blog, the Xbox One December Games with Gold lineup has been detailed. For the Xbox One, “The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing” will be out from Dec. 1 to 31. The title may be interesting for fans of “Diablo” though it also has a spin on Eastern European mythology. Square Enix’s stealth title and reboot “Thief” will be available from Dec. 16 to Jan. 15.

For the Xbox 360, “Castlestorm” will be available from Dec. 1 to 15 while “Sacred” is available for the latter half of the month. Coming in on the same schedule as “Sacred” is “Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising,” a title from Codemasters which lets players experience what war feels like as a war simulator.

Free games are just the tip of the iceberg for the holidays on the Xbox One. With the Black Friday 2015 weekend coming ever closer, Microsoft has detailed some new special offers for Xbox One accessories.

There are three Xbox One accessories offered at discounted prices for the Black Friday 2015 sale, as detailed over the Xbox Wire. There is the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, geared towards the more competitive gamer thanks to its intricate button mapping capabilities. For standard Xbox One controllers, Microsoft is also rolling out special and limited edition versions, which take inspiration from games like “Halo 5: Guardians,” “Covert Forces” and “Forza 6.”

The integration of the Xbox One and Windows 10 has also yielded some interesting accessories, such as the Xbox Chatpad. This allows easy typing and searching. There’s also the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows 10. Again, this will help enhance the overall gaming experience for the integrated Xbox One and Windows 10. This device can plugin up to eight controllers, four chat headsets or two stereo headsets.

Finally, the Kinect 2.0 tailored for the Xbox One is also a good-to-have accessory this holiday. This is particularly so for players who are planning to get the Xbox One bundles that feature some Kinect-compatible games.

"The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing"on the Xbox December Games with Gold (Credit: YouTube/Xbox)

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