Summary

  • Xbox Game Pass in 2023 saw the constant addition of high-quality new games, including big budget AAA releases and innovative indies.
  • Some of the standout day one Game Pass games added in 2023 include Cocoon, Forza Motorsport, Hi-Fi Rush, Jusant, Lies of P, Ravenlok, Sea of Stars, Starfield, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
  • These games offered a variety of genres and gameplay experiences, from sci-fi puzzle games to racing sims, action-adventures, and RPGs, catering to a wide range of player preferences.

Xbox Game Pass strives to be the best deal in gaming, and in 2023, the argument can definitely be made that it achieved that goal. High-quality new games were added to Xbox Game Pass throughout 2023, ranging from big budget AAA releases to innovative indies.

2023 was arguably the best year Xbox Game Pass has seen so far, with the constant addition of new releases supported by the debuts of older, but still beloved games. Microsoft ensured that there were constantly new games being added to Xbox Game Pass throughout the year, including some of the biggest games that the service has seen to date.

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Xbox Game Pass Has 2 Games Confirmed for January 2024 So Far

At the time of this writing, Xbox Game Pass subscribers have two day one games to look forward to in January 2024.

These are the best day one Xbox Game Pass games added in 2023.

This list is unranked and presented in alphabetical order.

Cassette Beasts

There are many Pokemon clones on the market, but most of them can't hold a candle to Nintendo's monster-catching franchise. One game that does give Pokemon a run for its money is Cassette Beasts, an Xbox Game Pass game that features Pokemon-style monster-catching and an ambitious fusion mechanic that lets players combine nearly every monster in the game. Cassette Beasts is notable for being one of the highest-rated Xbox Game Pass games of 2023, making it a safe bet for both Pokemon fans and those looking for a quality RPG.

Cocoon

Read The Best War Games's Cocoon Review

One of the great things about Xbox Game Pass is that it gives smaller-scale, riskier, creative games the chance to shine, like Geometric Interactive's Cocoon. Cocoon is a bizarre sci-fi puzzle game that almost defies explanation, and it likely reached a much larger audience thanks to its status as a day one Game Pass game. In it, players carry orbs around strange alien worlds, with the twist being that players can actually travel inside these orbs to reach different worlds within them. This lends itself well to mind-bending puzzles and creative boss fights, resulting in an experience that players won't forget anytime soon.

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9 /10

Cocoon

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Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
September 29, 2023
ESRB
E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Geometric Interactive
Publisher(s)
Annapurna Interactive
Engine
Unity
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From Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer of LIMBO and INSIDE — COCOON takes you on an adventure across worlds within worlds. Master world-leaping mechanics to unravel a cosmic mystery.

Worlds within Worlds
COCOON is a unique take on the puzzle adventure genre, where each world exists within an orb that you can carry on your back. Wrap your head around the core mechanic of leaping between worlds—and combine, manipulate, and rearrange them to solve intricate puzzles.

Alien Machinery
Interact with alien environments and biomechanical devices left behind by an ancient civilization. Journey through unique and diverse biomes, from industrial structures to massive organic caverns, and discover how they are connected to one another.

Orb Abilities
Each orb has an ability that can be unlocked, thereby turning the orb into a unique tool for you to utilize within other worlds. Use these abilities to uncover hidden pathways and objects, fire projectiles to trigger switches, and more.

Monstrous Guardians
Mighty guardians protect every world, and you must face them in fierce battles. Each fight is unique and requires you to master new and satisfying mechanics.

Genre(s)
Puzzle, Adventure
How Long To Beat
5 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
3 GB (November 2023)
Metascore
92

Forza Motorsport

While the open world Forza Horizon games have been keeping Xbox racing fans busy, many have been wanting to see the simulation-based Forza Motorsport games make a comeback. Sim racing game fans had to wait a whopping six years between Forza Motorsport 7 and the new game, but many would agree that it was worth the wait. The new Forza Motorsport boasts cutting-edge graphics, expanded online options, and enough content to keep racing game fans busy for the long haul. Forza Motorsport picked up multiple wins at The Game Awards 2023, which is just further evidence that it is one of the best new Xbox Game Pass games of the year.

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Racing
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Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 89%
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Released
October 10, 2023
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
Turn 10 Studios
Publisher(s)
Xbox Game Studios
Engine
Forza Tech
Multiplayer
Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
Franchise
Forza Motorsport, Forza
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Race over 500 real-world cars including modern race cars and more than 100 cars new to Forza Motorsport. Make every lap count across 20 living tracks with fan-favorite locations and multiple track layouts to master, each featuring live on-track scoring, fully dynamic time-of-day with weather and unique driving conditions that ensure no two laps ever look or play the same.

Experience a cutting-edge simulation with incredible photorealistic visuals that deliver real-time ray tracing on-track, new damage and dirt accumulation systems, and massively upgraded physics featuring powerful assists and a 48x improvement in tire fidelity.

Out-build the competition by earning over 800 performance upgrades and race our most advanced AI opponents yet in an all-new, fun and rewarding single-player campaign, the Builders Cup Career Mode.

Compete for the podium in Featured Multiplayer* events with a race weekend inspired structure or create the racing you and your friends desire in Free Play. Online racing is safer, more fun and more competitive with AI-powered Forza Race Regulations, tire and fuel strategy, and new driver and safety ratings.

Genre(s)
Racing

Hi-Fi Rush

The vast majority of day one Xbox Game Pass games are revealed months, if not years, in advance. Hi-Fi Rush is the big exception to the rule, with the innovative music/rhythm hack-and-slash game shadow dropped for Xbox Game Pass as a day one game at the beginning of 2023. Hi-Fi Rush was praised for its cel-shaded art style and creative combat system, standing out as one of the most unique games added to Xbox Game Pass all year.

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Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
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Released
January 25, 2023
ESRB
Rated T: Fantasy Violence, Language
Developer(s)
Tango Gameworks
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
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Feel the beat as wannabe rockstar Chai and his ragtag team of allies rebel against an evil robotics enhancement megacorp with raucous rhythm combat! From Tango Gameworks, the studio that brought you The Evil Within® and Ghostwire®: Tokyo (no, really) comes Hi-Fi RUSH, an all-new action game where the characters, world and combat stylishly sync to the music!


CHAI VERSUS THE WORLD: Labeled ‘defective’ after a shady corporate experiment mistakenly fuses a music player to his heart, Chai must now fight for his freedom in a slick animated world where everything – platforming puzzles, enemy attacks and even the colorful gags & banter - are synced to the beat.


OPEN UP THE MOSH PIT!: Take on armies of corporate drones (read: actual robots) in satisfying, rhythm-amplified combat. Time your moves to pull off flashy Beat Hits, hard-hitting special abilities and even combination attacks with your allies! Want to show off? Go further and tap into the beat to amp up your skills and earn those covetous S-rank scores.


ROWDY REBELS VS. BADASS BOSSES: Lead a squad of colorful teammates and take the fight to the heart of an, er, heartless corporation. Square off with each department’s boss, from Production to Marketing to Finance, each more ready to protect the company’s bottom line than the last in over-the-top battle sequences accompanied by their own music tracks!


GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES: Tap your toes to a killer mixtape of original music, as well as songs by Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Joy Formidable and more! Want to show off your skills to a live streaming audience? Fret not: Hi-Fi RUSH includes a streamer-friendly alternate audio mode which replaces those licensed songs with original tracks made especially for streaming Hi-Fi RUSH.

Genre(s)
Action
How Long To Beat
8-10 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
16 GB (November 2023)

Jusant

Don't Nod has to be one of the most unpredictable developers in the industry. Its debut game, Remember Me, is a sci-fi action adventure with a focus on combat; Life is Strange is an episodic narrative-driven game; Vampyr is an action-RPG; and the day one Xbox Game Pass game Jusant is a puzzle platformer. Jusant challenges players to climb a giant tower, all the while taking in some rather impressive views brought to life thanks to the game's vibrant art style. Jusant is not only one of the highest-rated day one Xbox Game Pass games of 2023, it's one of the highest-rated new games of 2023 period, so subscribers should definitely be sure to check it out as soon as possible.

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Puzzle
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Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
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Released
October 30, 2023
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
DON'T NOD
Publisher(s)
DON'T NOD
Engine
Unreal Engine 5, Unreal Engine 4
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Jusant is a brand-new action-puzzle climbing game and a meditative journey to the top of a tall tower. Challenge yourself at your own pace, explore different paths, and unravel the secrets from a bygone civilization.

Master your climbing tools and watch your stamina meter to successfully navigate this mysterious and changing tower. As you go higher and hone your skills, you’ll have to figure out how best to use the tools at your disposal to get to where you want to go. Explore alternative paths to find clues about what happened here.

Play at your own pace. As you climb, you’ll come across breathtaking biomes full of flora and fauna, accompanied by a peaceful and atmospheric soundtrack. Brace yourself on arid, windy slopes, seek refuge in tunnels lit only by bioluminescence, and more.

Meet the mysterious Ballast. This creature will help guide you throughout your journey by waking nature along your path and helping to reveal clues that will help you piece together the tower’s past and reach the top.

Platform(s)
PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Genre(s)
Puzzle
How Long To Beat
4 Hours

Lies of P

Read The Best War Games's Lies of P Review

Many have tried to emulate FromSoftware's Soulslike formula, but few have managed to do so quite as well as Lies of P developer Neowiz. Lies of P is a brutal Soulslike that has players exploring the dangerous streets of Krat as Pinocchio. Armed with an expansive arsenal of weapons, Pinocchio has to fight his way through a variety of mechanical and organic monsters, including tough-as-nails bosses that often have two whole phases to conquer. Praised as one of the best non-FromSoftware Soulslike games of all time, Lies of P was one of Xbox Game Pass's surprise hits in 2023, and it will be exciting to see how the DLC turns out.

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Soulslike
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Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
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Released
September 19, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Violence
Developer(s)
Round8 Studio, Neowiz
Publisher(s)
Neowiz
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Lies of P is a thrilling soulslike that takes the story of Pinocchio, turns it on its head, and sets it against the darkly elegant backdrop of the Belle Epoque era.

You are a puppet created by Geppetto who’s caught in a web of lies with unimaginable monsters and untrustworthy figures standing between you and the events that have befallen the world of Lies of P.

You are awakened by a mysterious voice that guides you through the plagued city of Krat - a once lively place that has been poisoned by madness and bloodlust. In our soulslike, you must adapt yourself and your weapons to face untold horrors, untangle the unfathomable secrets of the city's elites and choose whether to confront predicaments with the truth or weave lies to overcome them on the journey to find yourself.

Genre(s)
Soulslike
How Long To Beat
20 Hours
File Size Xbox Series
35 GB (November 2023)
Metascore
84

Ravenlok

Read The Best War Games's Ravenlok Review

One of 2023's most underrated Xbox Game Pass games has to be Ravenlok from Cococumber. Ravenlok is an action-RPG with a voxel art style that completes the developer's Voxel Trilogy, preceded by Riverbond and Echo Generation. Based on the Alice in Wonderland fairytale, Ravenlok is a short but sweet adventure that does a great job of keeping players hooked from the start of the game to its end credits.

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Top Critic Avg: 68 /100 Critics Rec: 32%
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Released
May 4, 2023
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
Engine
Unity
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Embark on an enchanting journey in Ravenlok, an action-packed fairytale adventure about a young heroine destined to fulfill a perilous prophecy.

Upon encountering a mystical mirror, Ravenlok is whisked away to a whimsical world plagued by the sinister darkness of a tyrannical queen. Destiny awaits all in an unforgettable and heartfelt adventure.

THRILLING ACTION ADVENTURE: Battles against fearsome beasts and formidable monsters using real-time combat. Wield your sword and shield, and use the magical skills bestowed to you, along with an arsenal of bombs, to vanquish foes in epic boss encounters!

ENCHANTED WORLD: Meet curious creatures and help them with their troubles to fight back against the encroaching darkness. Discover the whimsical Mushroom Forest, tackle puzzles in the Mask Mansion and unravel the mysteries of the Labyrinth in a wonderful world turned upside down!

GRAND FINALE: By the creators of critically-acclaimed adventure “Echo Generation'', this enchanting fairytale marks the grand finale of the Cococucumber Voxel Trilogy. Immerse in a delightful and captivating indie game filled with heart.

Developer
Cococucumber
Publisher
Cococucumber
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure
How Long To Beat
4 Hours

Sea of Stars

Read The Best War Games's Sea of Stars Review

Sea of Stars from Sabotage Studio is unique in that it not only released as a day one Xbox Game Pass game, but it also released day-and-date on PS Plus Extra as well. Many would agree that it's a great thing Sea of Stars is readily available on both Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus Extra, as it's a remarkable RPG that pays homage to 16-bit era JRPGs while making big enhancements to meet modern standards. Sea of Stars has a memorable cast of characters and an engrossing story that solidify it as one of the must-play Xbox Game Pass games of 2023.

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Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
August 29, 2023
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language
Developer(s)
Sabotage
Publisher(s)
Sabotage
Engine
Unity
Multiplayer
Local Co-Op
Number of Players
1-3
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Set in the same world as 2018's The Messenger, Sabotage Studio's Sea of Stars is an RPG that takes inspiration from Japanese classics like Chrono Trigger. Featuring a dynamic turn-based combat system and platforming-based exploration, Sea of Stars is an ambitious and gorgeous addition to the role-playing genre.

Genre(s)
RPG
How Long To Beat
28 Hours
Metascore
87

Starfield

Read The Best War Games's Starfield Review

The flagship game for Xbox Game Pass in 2023 was without question Bethesda's Starfield. A massive open world sci-fi RPG and the studio's first single-player game since 2015's Fallout 4, hype was incredibly high for Starfield in the years leading up to its release. While there are those who are tired of the Bethesda formula and have soured on the game, many others have found Starfield to be an ambitious adventure on a jaw-dropping scale. Starfield features classic Bethesda RPG gameplay, over 1,000 planets, and hundreds of galaxies to explore, ensuring a dizzying amount of content that can keep players busy for hours on end. Bethesda is dedicated to improving Starfield with future updates, and with the Shattered Space expansion also on the way, there's plenty for fans to look forward to in 2024 and beyond.

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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
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Released
September 6, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
proprietary engine
Cross-Platform Play
no multiplayer
Cross Save
no
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Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.

Genre(s)
Action, RPG
File Size Xbox Series
101 GB (September 2023)
Metascore
86

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Read The Best War Games's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Review

There are many asymmetrical multiplayer horror games to choose from, but few are as high quality as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Taking most of its inspiration from the original 1974 horror movie classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game puts four players in the roles of survivors while three others play as Leatherface and his twisted family members. Fans of the movie will get a kick out of exploring the game's maps, while those looking for a scary and entertaining game to play with their friends will find The Texas Chain Saw Massacre meets those needs and then some.

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Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 57%
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Released
August 18, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s)
Sumo Nottingham
Publisher(s)
Gun Interactive
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Texas Chain Saw Massacre Game Making Big Change to Updates
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Inspired by the seminal 1970s horror movie, Sumo Nottingham's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an asymmetrical PvP experience that pits a group of victims against a Slaughter Family representative. The game features iconic villains from the films like Leatherface, The Hitchhiker, and Grandpa.

Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Genre(s)
Survival
How Long To Beat
N/A
File Size Xbox Series
21 GB (September 2023)