With subscription services on the rise in the gaming industry, the Xbox game pass is arguably the best value so far. With hundreds of games and launch day inclusions, it is impossible for the competitors to ignore the behemoth Game Pass is.
Microsoft has recently acquired Bethesda in addition to a lot of other studios and has added their games to the ever growing library of its subscription service. AAA games from first party studios appear on the day one on game pass, including a lot of third party ones like the upcoming Atomic Hearts and Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. With the launch of Series X, Microsoft is working non stop with its Japanese partners to add a lot of JRPGs to the game pass. Microsoft has recently added the critically acclaimed Persona franchise to its service, including all 3 games on day one.
But it is not always great news for the subscribers as games tend to leave game pass on a regular basis too.This month’s batch of games leaving game pass are significant for a couple of reasons. Not only is the game pass losing some of the best Jrpgs it has to offer, but the last Final Fantasy game on game pass will be removed on 28th of this month.
Xbox game pass used to house all Final Fantasy games, ranging from classics to the most recent ones, like Final Fantasy 15. With Square Enix no longer releasing new Final Fantasy games on Xbox anymore, like Final Fantasy 7 remake, Pixel remasters and the upcoming Final Fantasy 16, the future of the series on the machine looks dire. But the bad news doesn’t end here for Xbox players, as Square Enix is constantly removing Final Fantasy games from the service too. And with the removal of Lighting Returns Final Fantasy 13, this will officially be the end of Final Fantasy on game pass. This is heartbreaking, as Microsoft promoted game pass using Final Fantasy in the past and it seems like a perfect fit for the machine. There is no other way to play Final Fantasy 13 games on current machines respectably other than Xbox consoles via backwards compatibility.
Another major title leaving game pass is Octopath Traveler. This is a very strange time for the game to leave the service as the sequel is releasing in a few days. Unsurprisingly, Octopath Traveler II is releasing on every machine except Xbox. It is another title developed and published by Square Enix and will definitely hurt Xbox in Japan.
But this doesn’t stop here as the next casualty is one of our favourite fighting games of all time. Developed by Arc System Works and published by Namco Bandai, we think DBFZ is not only the best in its class but also one of the best anime-based games ever made. This is a very strange case too, as Namco Bandai is removing its games from game pass on a constant basis. With Scarlet Nexus rumoured for PS Plus extra this month, the removal of DBFZ from game pass makes it even more suspicious.
Last but not least is Alien Isolation. Considered a cult classic and one of the scariest games ever, Alien Isolation has been on the service for a very long time and we recommend checking it out if you haven’t already before it leaves the service.
Games leave game pass all the time as most of the games are on the service for one year or less, but 4 AAA games leaving simultaneously is worrying given the circumstances. We at Techdrake hope Microsoft continues its good relationships with its Japanese partners, especially Square Enix and Namco Bandai, and bring some of the classics like Final Fantasy back to the service. What do you think of the games leaving game pass this month? Let us know in the comments.
Octopath Traveller is the title I need to play before it goes off game pass… Well I guess time to whip out the Series X from under the shelf again.