Next week, Halo infinite, which had its free multiplayer mode playable for some time, comes complete with Xbox Game Pass. But Microsoft’s Games-on-Demand service is getting a lot more than a madly anticipated first-person shooter, as a stacked lineup from December 2021 shows. Here is everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in the next few weeks:
2. December
- anvil (Console, PC)
- Archvale (Cloud, console, PC)
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Console, PC)
- Lawn mower simulator (Cloud, console, PC)
- Rubber bandits (Cloud, console, PC)
- Stardew Valley (Cloud, console, PC)
- Warhammer 40K: Battle Sector (Cloud, console, PC)
December 7th
- Space Warlord Organ Trade Simulator (Cloud, console, PC)
December 8th
- Halo infinite (Cloud, console, PC)
9th of December
- One Piece Pirate Warrior 4 (Cloud, console, PC)
December 14th
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Cloud, console, PC)
- Between us (Cloud, console, PC)
But, as always, the Xbox Game Pass library is more of a revolving door than the digital media industry. The following will leave the service on December 15th:
- Viewer (Cloud, console)
- The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (Console, PC)
- Guacamelee! 2 (Cloud, console, PC)
- Wilmot’s camp (Cloud, console, PC)
- Until the end (Cloud, console, PC)
- Yooka-Laylee and the impossible cave (Cloud, console, PC)
Yup, a whole bunch of games vie for that thin sliver of sunlight that isn’t covered by Halo infinites shadow. Some like Between us and Stardew Valley (first announced for a fall release of the service back in august), are totemic in modern gaming and should get a not absolutely necessary, but still nice shot in the arm when you hop on Game Pass. There are also Final Fantasy XIII-2who joins on the heels of its immediate predecessor, two years after Microsoft released a comprehensive list of Final Fantasy Games would hit the Game Pass library. And of course don’t shy away from the surprisingly captivating Lawn mower simulator. (I’ll give you a guess what people will draw in the grass.)
The strangest, if not surprising, is Aliens: Fireteam Elite. First published in August, the left 4 Dead– same set in the Aliens canon was received lukewarm, but played moderately, at the start. Then, after the October release of the miscellaneous left 4 Dead-how, Aliens: Fireteam Elite‘s player base fell off a cliff. By the middle of the month it had a total of concurrent players of less than 800 on Steam.
The launch on Game Pass is known to have given some multiplayer shooters a boost in gamers. to like Pioneer, in paNS. Of course, these games benefit hugely from the excitement on day one and the heightened hype of a Microsoft-affiliated advertising campaign. I’m curious to see if accessing the service months after its release can have a similar effect on the player base of a multiplayer shooter. Personally, I like to check Aliens: Fireteam Elite off – well, maybe when I’m fed up gloriole.
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