High On Life sets Xbox Game Pass records with “biggest launch of 2022.”

The goofy sci-fi shooter from Squanch Games high in life is not only the most popular game on Game Pass right now, but also the biggest Game Pass release of 2022 and The largest third-party launch in Game Pass history, according to Microsoft. Not satisfied with just two records, high in life is also the “biggest single-player game launch on Game Pass ever” based on “the number of hours played in the first five days of release”. says microsoft.

As of Monday, the new Xbox and Windows PC version of Squanch Games was the most popular game on Game Pass, beating out other titles on the service such as Lego

war of stars: The Skywalker Saga, Minecraft, FIFA 22, ForzaHorizon 5, Rainbow Six siegeand Halo infinity on console and PC. That’s an impressive feat for a game released independently through Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program, but there are a few reasons that explain why high in life managed to set so many records.

for one high in life is not available on competing platforms – there is no Nintendo Switch or PlayStation version of the game. It is de facto exclusive to Microsoft. high in life also fell during the typically slower month of December, when there are few new game releases, meaning it had little competition.

Game Pass hasn’t seen many AAA marquee releases in 2022; Arkane’s delays redfall and Bethesdas starfield to 2023 meant Microsoft’s lineup for this year was thin compared to next if games like Forza Motorsport, Minecraft legendsand STALKER 2 will also join Game Pass. An original title like high in life

– which comes with a built-in audience thanks to the work of Squanch Games founder Justin Roiland Rick and Morty — gets the chance to stand out in this environment and set records.

This helps high in life

is a pretty good game in its own right, with decent shooting and solid first-person traversal, taking some inspiration from the Metroid Prime games. Whether Roiland’s humor matches yours is another story. But it’s the perfect example of a Game Pass game, as Polygon’s Ryan Gilliam noted in a recent Sub Gems column:

high in life is a game that will either have you flinching enough to knock it out in the first 10 minutes or laugh your ass off until the game’s first boss. The beauty is that with Game Pass, any of these results are perfectly acceptable. You either find a new game that you look forward to playing through to the end, or you erase it from your hard drive forever and never think about it again – no harm, no foul.

high in life is playable via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass both cost $9.99 per month. PC Game Pass includes EA Play access, which offers an additional 70 games on PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives subscribers access to everything – the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Libraries, EA Play on console and PC – as well as the Xbox Live Gold membership required for online multiplayer for $14.99 per month is.