Highlights
- Xbox Game Pass is starting off 2024 strong with a lineup of exciting games, including Hell Let Loose and two highly anticipated third-party releases.
- The Xbox Developer Direct showcase was a hit this year, featuring highly anticipated upcoming games and a surprise appearance from a developer.
- January has been an excellent month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, with a great lineup of games and a promising outlook for the rest of the year.
Though there were some hurdles along the way, on the whole, 2023 was a pretty great year for Xbox Game Pass, with plenty of exciting Indies, major first-party games, and more day-one drops than anyone could shake a stick at. Going into 2024, there was a lot of pressure for Xbox Game Pass to knock it out of the park right out of the gate, and somehow, that’s exactly what it’s doing.
January is always a bit of a slower month in the video game landscape. With most major 2024 releases holding out until the Summer or taking the opportunity to release right before the Holiday rush at the end of the year, this often means that the first few months of the year are a little barren in terms of big video game releases. Thankfully, 2024 seems to be breaking that trend a little, and Xbox Game Pass has played a vital part in ensuring that gamers have plenty to enjoy this January, just like it did in 2023.
Hi-Fi Rush’s Rumored Switch Release Could Be an Xbox Game Pass Power Play
It’s just been rumored that Hi-Fi Rush could be coming to Nintendo Switch consoles, and if it’s true, it could be a big power play for Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass’ January 2024 Line-Up Is Repeating 2023 In the Best Way
January Has Been a Great Month for Xbox Game Pass Two Years Running
Last January, Xbox Game Pass had one of its strongest months ever. Though it started out slow with Stranded Deep and Mortal Shell, Xbox Game Pass quickly picked up the pace, delivering both Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, two of the most critically acclaimed JRPGs of all time. This was soon followed by the immensely successful Monster Hunter Rise, the long-awaited GoldenEye 007 remaster, and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. To top things off, January 2023 also saw Hi-Fi Rush surprise drop onto Xbox Game Pass, setting the tone for the rest of Xbox’s year.
This year, Xbox Game Pass seems to be on a similar mission. Hitting the service on January 4, Hell Let Loose has received major attention on Xbox Game Pass. This month has also brought with it two huge third-party releases with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Resident Evil 2 Remake, two games that fans have wanted on Game Pass for years now. And just a few days ago, Xbox Game Pass received the “Pokemon with guns” game Palworld, which is quickly becoming one of the biggest titles of 2024 already.
The Xbox Developer Direct Has Also Had a Welcome Return
To make matters even better, Xbox released its second annual Developer Direct showcase, and this year it truly felt like Xbox knew what it was doing. While last year’s Developer Direct felt a bit meandering and some of the games shown weren’t too impressive, 2024’s Xbox Developer Direct was concise and engaging throughout, giving fans a great look at hugely anticipated upcoming games like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Avowed, Ara: History Untold, and the big highlight of the show, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. And while there was no shadow-drop this year, a surprise appearance from Visions of Mana‘s developer was very welcome.
On the whole, January has been an excellent month for Xbox Game Pass so far. With both an excellent line-up of titles this month and an exciting Developer Direct highlighting what fans can expect from Xbox this year, 2024 is looking very bright for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and it’s clear that things are only getting started.
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.
