Summary
- For the King 2 and Hunt: Showdown 1896 are now available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
- Hunt: Showdown 1896 is an extraction shooter that can also be played with an XGP Standard membership.
- For the King 2 is a strategy RPG that was originally released for PC in November 2023 and has now made its way to consoles.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can start playing For the King 2 and Hunt: Showdown 1896 as part of their subscriptions starting today, December 12. These are the 139th and 140th new titles to reach the Xbox Game Pass library in 2024.
Microsoft typically announces new additions to its subscription service in waves, twice a month. But since its recently revealed Xbox Game Pass Wave 1 lineup for December 2024 stretched all the way into January 2025, some XGP users have been speculating that the company may be skipping a typical Wave 2 announcement this month.
Whatever the case may be, two bonus titles that weren't revealed as part of the Wave 1 roster have now made their way to Xbox Game Pass on December 12. These are strategy RPG For the King 2 and extraction shooter Hunt: Showdown 1896. The latter, developed by Crytek, was originally released in August 2019 as Hunt: Showdown, then received an updated version with the 1896 title addendum in August 2024. Meanwhile, For the King 2 first debuted on PC in November 2023 but still qualifies as a day-one release because its Xbox console ports are brand-new. As such, it's only available to XGP Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, whereas Hunt: Showdown 1896 can also be played with an XGP Standard membership.
In terms of critical acclaim, Hunt: Showdown 1896 edges out For the King 2. It presently boasts an 80 average score on OpenCritic, along with a 78% reviewer recommendation rate. In comparison, For the King 2 has a 78 average rating and a 55% recommendation rate on the aggregator platform. Both games have "Mostly Positive" reviews on Steam. Naturally, they cater to completely different audiences; For the King 2 appeals to SRPG fans, whereas Hunt: Showdown 1896 expands the Xbox Game Pass library's selection of multiplayer titles.
Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games
|
Game |
Date Added |
Game Pass Tier(s) |
Platform(s) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
For the King 2 |
Dec 12 |
Ultimate, PC |
Cloud(?), Console, PC |
Day-one (console) release. |
|
Hunt: Showdown 1896 |
Dec 12 |
Standard, Ultimate |
Cloud(?), Series X/S |
|
|
Carrion |
Jan 2 |
Standard, Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, Console, PC |
Returning title that was last available in Jul 2022. |
|
Road 96 |
Jan 7 |
Standard, Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, Console, PC |
Returning title that was last available in Jun 2023. |
|
Sniper Elite: Resistance |
Jan 30 |
Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, Console, PC |
Day-one release |
|
Avowed |
Feb 18 |
Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, PC, Series X/S |
Day-one release |
|
Football Manager 25 |
Mar?? |
Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, Console, PC |
Day-one release; exact release date TBA. |
|
Atomfall |
Mar 27 |
Ultimate, PC |
Cloud, Console, PC |
Day-one release |
When Will For the King 2 Join Xbox Game Pass Standard?
Microsoft previously said that most day-one XGP Ultimate releases will take from six to 12 months to reach XGP Standard. Therefore, For the King 2 could plausibly join Xbox Game Pass Standard between June and December 2025.
Moving forward, the next confirmed XGP release is Carrion, which is scheduled to return to the service on January 2, two and a half years after first leaving it. But given Microsoft's historically strong presence at Geoff Keighley's shows, it's possible that The Game Awards 2024 will yield some Xbox Game Pass-related news. This year's edition of TGA kicks off later today, December 12, at 4:30pm PST / 7:30pm EST.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info