Free January Xbox Games with Gold announced: Sleeping dogs and Lara Croft

Microsoft has announced January 2014's set of free games for Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox 360.

Starting Wednesday, January 1, Square Enix's open-world action game Sleeping Dogs (normally $20) will be free. Then from January 16-31, subscribers can download Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (normally $15) for free.

The free games are part of Microsoft's Xbox 360 "Games with Gold" program that gives subscribers two free games to keep per month. New titles are available on the 1st and 16th of every month.

An Xbox Live Gold subscription is $10/month or $60/year. No such promotion is available on Xbox One.

The current free Xbox 360 game for subscribers is Shoot Many Robots (normally $10). The deal expires at midnight tomorrow.

By comparison, Sony will offer BioShock Infinite, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as free games for PlayStation Plus members on PlayStation 3 during January 2014. PlayStation 4 owners can download indie hit Don't Starve, while PlayStation Vita owners will be able to download Worms: Battle Island and Smart As… during the month.