It turns out that the Xbox Game Pass leak that outed all the games coming to the service in late summer was spot on.
As originally revealed by a couple of YouTubers, the likes of Creatures of Ava, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Mafia: Definitive Edition were all added to Microsoft’s subscription offering earlier this month - but that still left a few anticipated games out.
Well, a couple of the listed games have now been announced as well. God of War copycat Atlas Fallen and survival crafting game Core Keeper are heading to Game Pass on August 22 and August 27, respectively.
We’re especially keen to sample the latter, which is arriving on the service (along with consoles) more than two years after its early access launch on PC. The game mixes elements from Minecraft, Terraria and Stardew Valley, allowing players to mine, craft, farm and explore in packs of up to four.
It looks like a pixelated blast from the past that should be great fun with a squad of mates.
There’s also a surprise addition in Star Trucker (September 3), described as an “Americana-infused journey” through the cosmos. You’ll be tasked with collecting and hauling space junk (alas, there’s plenty of flotsam floating around the heavens, causing chaos for satellites and spacecraft).
PC players got to preview the game as part of Steam Next Fest earlier this year, which sees the digital storefront offering demos of some of the biggest upcoming indie releases. Those that sampled it hailed it as “Truck Simulator” in space - meaning it’s an ultra-realistic truck driving sim rather than an arcade racer.
Of course, sci-fi fans will know the game’s premise has already served as the inspiration for shows and movies, including the 1996 Hollywood flop Space Truckers and the slightly better Korean Netflix show Space Sweepers.
There’s good news for Game Pass Core subscribers, too. The cheapest subscription tier is adding three more games to its small library tomorrow (August 21), including the excellent city-building title Cities: Skylines, Max Payne developer Remedy’s mind-bending RPG Control and off-road driving game SnowRunner.
Meanwhile, three notable titles are leaving on August 31: Atomic Heart, Guilty Gear Strive, and NBA 2K24.
Finally, as a nice little perk for Game Pass members, Microsoft is offering them the chance to pre-load the Call of Duty Black Ops 6 early access beta two days before launch on August 28.
