The offer was unveiled in a letter from Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten, who explained recent Xbox Live issues as the result of a "massive increase in usage" over the holidays and expressed that the company was "disappointed in our performance."

Despite the problems, Whitten revealed that the Xbox 360's online service recently hit new records in regards to new member sign-up and and concurrent online users, with the latter reached yesterday, January 2.

"I would like to take this moment to thank you each and every one of you for your patience and understanding as our team has worked around the clock to return the service to a stable state," wrote Whitten.

Addressed to all Xbox Live members, the letter is reproduced here in its entirety.