Game of Thrones Première Free to US Xbox Live Members

If you haven’t already gorged yourself on the four leaked episodes already, or don’t have access to HBO, Microsoft is offering Xbox Live members – on both Xbox One and Xbox 360 – the chance to watch the first episode of Game of Thrones’ season 5 for free.

The season 5 premiere of Game of Thrones aired last night on HBO, as well as showing internationally on new streaming service HBO Now, but its pre-debut momentum was broken by the leak of the first four episodes of season 5, with each episode reportedly being downloaded over one million times each, confirming Game of Thrones’ existing position as the most downloaded show in history.

HBO’s fantasy television show, based on the A Song of Fire and Ice novels by George R.R. Martin, has been a smash hit for the cable channel since it hit screens back in 2011, popular with both the audience – the show has a gross of 14.4 million viewers per episode – and the critics.

The offer is only available for free via Xbox Live to US customers, mainly due to foreign syndication agreements, though this change after the episode airs in the UK tonight on Sky Atlantic. US Xbox Live members have until 16th April to watch the episode for free.

Thank you Engadget for providing us with this information.