Xbox Game Pass Announces New Titles for Early January

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Summary

  • Microsoft announces new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in early January 2025, including Road 96, My Time at Sandrock, and Diablo.
  • Six games will be leaving the service this month, including Exoprimal and Those Who Remain.

Microsoft has unveiled its initial lineup of games for the Xbox Game Pass in 2025. Previous leaks and speculations had given fans a glimpse of what they might see in January, but now, players have received the official confirmation about the new additions and departures for this month. It’s only been a week into 2025, yet it appears that the year is shaping up to be another thrilling one for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

This upcoming reveal of Xbox’s lineup for the year isn’t their first 2025 announcement related to the subscription service, as Microsoft has previously disclosed some major updates for Xbox Game Pass. These changes, such as age restrictions and alterations in the reward system, have already been implemented, and they are effective just before the release of the initial batch of new games.

Back in my gaming world, I was thrilled to find out that Microsoft announced seven new additions to Xbox Game Pass, as shared on their official blog on January 7, 2025! One of these games, the engaging choice-driven title “Road 96” from 2021, is already playable now across all tiers of Game Pass – including PC Game Pass. Interestingly enough, “Road 96” had a brief stint on the platform before, but it left Xbox Game Pass in June 2023. However, it’s back now, along with other exciting titles that were announced for release in December 2024!

The remaining six games in this month’s lineup will be added later in January, primarily on the 8th, with two more expected to arrive on the 14th. Keep an eye out for updates, fellow gamers!

New Games on Xbox Game Pass for January 2025

  • Road 96, available January 7
  • Lightyear Frontier (Preview), available January 8
  • My Time at Sandrock, available January 8
  • Robin Hood – Sherwood Builders, available January 8
  • Rolling Hills, available January 8
  • UFC 5, available January 14
  • Diablo, available January 14

Previous rumors hinted at the arrivals of “Diablo” and “UFC 5” on Xbox Game Pass, and it appears those whispers were indeed accurate. The official release dates have been confirmed, although not every subscriber will gain access to these two titles. Specifically, “Diablo” will be exclusive to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members, while “UFC 5” is an exclusive title for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Standard subscription holders can enjoy the rest of the lineup, which includes the early-access sci-fi game “Lightyear Frontier.

Starting from January 7th, some fresh benefits for Game Pass Ultimate have been added. These include a weapon charm for Apex Legends and DLC packs for First Descendant, Vigor, and Metaball. As usual, with the arrival of new games, some older ones will depart the platform. Earlier updates to the Xbox app had already hinted at the six games set to leave Xbox Game Pass on January 15th, but now Microsoft has officially announced them. The games being removed are:

  • Common’hood
  • Escape Academy
  • Exoprimal
  • Figment
  • Insurgency Sandstorm
  • Those Who Remain

For Xbox enthusiasts, all the updates announced so far are only valid up until mid-month. Keep your eyes peeled as we’re not far from revealing the next wave of announcements, scheduled for the latter half of January 2025 and beyond.

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2025-01-07 19:13