Enjoy the school holidays or perhaps have some downtime at the start of the new year? Microsoft’s Xbox Team has begun rolling out their first updates of the year to their Xbox Game Pass library, with eight games scheduled to be added to the service between today and 13 January 2022 (with six also scheduled to be removed on 15 January).
Scroll down to see what games will be coming and going, and see if there is something worth checking out for the first time… or perhaps one last time.
New Additions
1Gorogoa (On Cloud, Console and PC)
Available Today: Winner of Debut Game at the BAFTA Games Awards, Gorogoa is an elegant evolution of the puzzle genre, told through a beautifully hand-drawn story designed and illustrated by Jason Roberts.
2Olija (On Cloud, Console and PC)
Available Today: Olija is a game about Faraday’s quest, a man shipwrecked then trapped in the mysterious country of Terraphage. Armed with a legendary harpoon, he and other castaways try to leave this hostile country to return to their homelands.
3The Pedestrian (On Cloud, Console and PC)
Available Today: The Pedestrian is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle platformer set in a dynamic world with stunning graphics and challenging puzzles, where you will rearrange and reconnect public signs to explore and advance through each engaging environment.
4Embr (On Cloud, Console and PC)
Available Tomorrow: Fight fires with friends for profit in this unpredictable and frantic multiplayer game. Team up with friends, take on daily challenges and climb to the top of the corporate firefighting ladder. More than one way to become a hero!
5Mass Effect Legendary Edition (On Console and PC via EA Play)
Available Tomorrow: The Legendary Edition includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from the highly acclaimed Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors, and packs – remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.
6Outer Wilds (On Cloud, Console and PC)
Available Tomorrow: Explore for the sake of your curiosity with a hand-crafted solar system filled with secrets to discover and perils to avoid while exploring space. Players are given a variety of tools to aid in space-backpacking, including their own spaceship and jetpack; a surveyor probe for scouting and taking pictures; and a signalscope to track down audio signals and view landmarks from afar.
7Spelunky 2 (On Console and PC)
Available 13 January: This challenging roguelike platformer offers you immense freedom to carve your own path through its randomly-generated caves and ruins. Exercise your creativity and through your actions, tell a unique story each time you play. Uncover the secrets alone or with friends!
8The Anacrusis (Game Preview) (On Console and PC)
Available 13 January: The Anacrusis is a four-player, cooperative first-person shooter set aboard a massive starship stranded at the edge of explored space. Team up with your friends in an infinitely-replayable fight against alien hordes to unlock perks, weapons, and new ways to play that you can share with your team!
Incoming Removals
9Leaving Xbox Game Pass on 15 January 2022
- Desperados III (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Ghost of a Tale (PC)
- Kingdom Hearts III (Console)
- Mount & Blade: Warband (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Pandemic (Console and PC)
- Yiik: A Postmodern RPG (PC)
PUBG: Battlegrounds will also be removed from the Xbox Game Pass library on 10 January, because it will be available free-to-play starting 12 January.
