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January - April Day-One Xbox Game Pass Additions
Xbox’s day-one additions to the service started off a bit slower this year, but quickly ramped up as the year progressed. However, the service still managed to secure some pretty big titles for day-one releases. One of the more interesting of the titles wasMLB The Show 21. The game’s day-one addition is particularly curious, as the game is published by Sony, so itsstart-up video features both Xbox and Sony logos. The decision to have the game on Xbox Game Pass was reportedly pushed for by MLB itself, but it will be interesting to see what other titles from its competitors Xbox can secure in the future.
Another noteworthy day-one release in the early part of 2021 wasOutridersin April. Despite releasing with a number of bugs and technical issues,Outriderswas seemingly everywhere when it was released as an interesting new take on the looter shooter genre. The game’s issues have been resolved, andOutriders' player counts have even spikedagain recently thanks to the release of a sizable free update.
May - August Day-One Xbox Game Pass Additions
The middle third of 2021’s day-one additions to Xbox Game Pass were largely dominated by great indie titles. One of the most impactful indie titles released in July wasThe Ascent, which brought twin-stick shooting to a wholly original cyberpunk setting thatrivaled that of bigger titles likeCyberpunk 2077. Xbox Game Pass also had day-one releases ofTwelve MinutesandArt of Rallyin August, on top of bringing the award-winningHadesto the service the day it launched on Xbox consoles as well. Another notable indie inclusion wasLemnis Gate, which brought a new take to the multiplayer shooter by having turn-based matches play out over the course of a time loop.
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However, there were still some big AAA first-party additions as well. The first of these was July’s release ofMicrosoft Flight Simulatoron consoles. The developers leveraged some very impressive technology to get the game running as well as it did on consoles, butMicrosoft Flight Simulatorhas been more than welcome on Xbox.
The second big first-party day-one addition was the platforming fun ofPsychonauts 2. A long-awaited sequel, Double Fine’s newest release proved that the studio still knew how to capture the magic of the original while improving on it in almost every way. It is always great to see fans of a long-dormant series receive a new release, andPsychonauts 2exemplifies this.
September - December Day-One Xbox Game Pass Additions
The tail end of 2021 was where Xbox Game Pass really grew in terms of day-one additions. One of the biggest releases of the year wasForza Horizon 5’s biggest launch in Xbox history. The open-world racing game gives players access to a strikingly beautiful rendition of Mexico to explore and zip through in a wide variety of different customizable cars and has received near-universal praise. The month of September also saw some great indie releases likeThe Artful EscapeandSablewhereas October brought some high profile AAA titles likeBack 4 BloodandAge of Empires 4.
To close out the year, Xbox Game Pass has also packed December with some notable day-one additions. One of the biggest has beenHalo Infinite’s campaignthat sees Master Chief battling against the ruthless Banished faction on a brand new ring installment. The campaign also features a new structure for a campaign in the series that continues its iconic storyline.
The month of December has also brought a number of solid indie titles like the highly anticipatedThe Gunkfrom the developers of theSteam Worldseries. With how strong Xbox Game Pass has managed to grow over the year it will be very interesting to see how it shapes up in 2022.
Xbox Game Passis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
