Summary
- Xbox Game Pass faced backlash, but July lineup impressed with day-one releases and new additions.
- August lineup includes promising titles like Creatures of Ava and Core Keeper to maintain momentum.
- Fans hope for big hits like Kena: Bridge of Spirits and classic Call of Duty titles to join Game Pass soon.
It's been a strange few weeks for Xbox Game Pass. After hiking the price of most of its Game Pass tiers and limiting which tiers give players access to day-one titles, fans weren't too happy with Xbox. More so than ever before, Xbox Game Pass needed to prove its worth, and thankfully its July line-up went a long way in doing just that. From day-one releases like Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Dungeons of Hinterberg, and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, to the first Call of Duty hitting the service, Xbox Game Pass has had a solid month, but that momentum can't ease up just yet.
Currently, there are just three games confirmed for Xbox Game Pass' August 2024 line-up, those being Creatures of Ava, Core Keeper, and Sopa. Xbox Game Pass must continue to prove its worth this month, and that means bringing out some heavy hitters.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Another port by Aspyr, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is set to launch on consoles and PC on August 1, and it'd make for a great Xbox Game Pass title. Though it's produced some solid ports, Aspyr's recent track record with the Star Wars franchise hasn't been great, with the most recent Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection being a bit of a disaster on launch. A simultaneous release on Xbox Game Pass might go a long way in restoring faith in the developer.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Originally released back in September 2021 for PlayStation and PC, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a delightful Indie third-person action-adventure, and it's finally coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on August 15. As a pretty high-profile Indie game, it's a bit surprising that K ena: Bridge of Spirits isn't already confirmed for Xbox Game Pass, with it ticking all the boxes for games that often thrive on the service. Releasing on Xbox Game Pass would not only help Kena: Bridge of Spirits reach a wider fan-base right away, but it would be a pretty major pull for the subscription service, which is something it desperately needs this month.
2013's Deadpool
Though its critical reception has been rather divisive, Deadpool and Wolverine is the talk of the town right now, and many fans are longing for a video game experience that lets them play as the "Merc With a Mouth." Unfortunately, Deadpool's one and only solo game has been delisted from online storefronts twice now, causing its physical price to skyrocket in recent years. But 2013's Deadpool was published by Activision, which is now owned by Microsoft. It would probably take some legal miracles, but it would be amazing to see High Noon Studios' Deadpool come to Xbox Game Pass.
Classic Call of Duty Titles
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has finally come to Xbox Game Pass, and now it's time for those floodgates to be opened and for the rest of the Call of Duty library to follow it. While it would be great to get recent titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard on Xbox Game Pass, it's the older titles that fans are really after. The original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy and the entirety of the Call of Duty: Black Ops series are by far the most requested additions for Game Pass, and it feels like their time could finally be here.
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.
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