Shacknews carries confirmation from Microsoft that Xbox Live Silver members will now be able to play some Xbox 360 games online. These games include Universe at War, Shadowrun and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition. Multiplayer behemoths like Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War still need an active Xbox Live Gold subscription for online gaming.

While it isn’t known why this move was taken, the site speculates that this came as a result of Microsoft’s decision to provide all Games for Windows Live members with free online.

Microsoft is yet to specify if this is a limited promotion or if all cross-platform games will feature free Xbox Live multiplayer or not.