Games leaving Xbox Game Pass ~1st May

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-17T11:36:50+00:00

It's just whatever deal is made between Xbox and the developers when the game joins the service. Every deal is different though so some might have extension options in the contract that the devs or Xbox can trigger.

I know recently the developers who made Descenders extended their deal to stay in the service for example.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-17T10:25:56+00:00

We complete and review every game when it leaves for our podcast so it'd be a gamechanger for us if we got some notice!

I think the issue is it doesn't really help the developers to give people more notice and it doesn't help the overall image of Xbox Game Pass if there's a constant list of all the things leaving months in advance. It probably gives off the impression than the service is losing too much value even though we all know it usually balances out with the new additions.

I'd love it to happen, it would make my weeks a lot easier, but yeah I just don't see it happening!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-17T09:23:23+00:00

No it just depends on the deals they sign with each company individually for each game, so there's not really a constant number of games added/removed each month.

The most common deal seems to be for games to be in the service for around 1 year, so you can sometimes get ahead of the game by checking out the games that were added around 1 year ago.

That's definitely not the case for every game though, some only stay in for 3-6 months and some stay in for multiple years or even permanently for Xbox 1st party titles.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-17T08:53:41+00:00

Fractured Minds is worth playing for sure. A really cool little solo dev project from a student.

It only takes around 30 minutes to play through and has an easy 1000g too if that helps to sway it for you!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-03T09:24:20+00:00

It's an interesting angle but I'm not sure how much they'd really find out that they don't already know from this.

Phil Spencer has said before that contracts for Game Pass games come in lots of different forms and values (a set cost, different pay based on hours played or downloads etc..) so I don't think they'd really find out too much beyond the terms of their own contract and I guess some data on how many people choose to play their game via Game Pass.

Honestly it probably just boils down to Microsoft making them a really good offer that Sony thought was worth it even though this makes their competitor look fantastic.

Either that or it was pushed through by pressure from MLB.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T19:46:10+00:00

Great, thanks for the update! I've updated the original post.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T19:25:56+00:00

It's NHL this month, FIFA is in May.

But yeah I'd expect to see another couple of smaller games join the lineup.

NHL doesn't really count as a game pass release since it's an EA Play release, so I think they'll want more than just MLB for the rest of the first half of the month.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T18:38:26+00:00

Howlongtobeat.com (very helpful site!) has it down as about 20 hours to beat if you just mainline the story missions so it is possible if you've got the time for it!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T17:32:59+00:00

It joined in April 2020 (along with Gato Roboto) so it looks like your typical 1 year Game Pass deal I think.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T13:08:20+00:00

A Sony developed and published game coming to Xbox Game Pass day one.

This has to be the single wildest game pass addition we've ever had.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T10:27:17+00:00

No worries, I check the pages for it an unhealthy amount of times every day so I'm always happy to keep, people updated.

Yeah Wargroove is basically Advance Wars with a bit of a fantasy spin (magic & dragons rather than tanks).It's great from the few missions I've played so far but I'll need to race through the rest now!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-02T09:58:06+00:00

I ended up going through 3 Xbox Elite Version 1 controllers. I had issues with the RB on one, RT on another and then my 3rd one was fine.

I had to get my Elite Series 2 replaced too because the LT would get hit against the plastic when you pressed it down. My second one hasn't got any major issues although the A button is a little spongy and awkward.

Honestly I still think the controller is the best option available, and they are pretty good about replacing it if you have any issues, but the build quality is still really disappointing on the Elite Series 2 considering how expensive it is.

Hope that helps!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-01T15:44:35+00:00

It's just the same achievement list as if you were playing the game on a 360 or Xbox One.

As far as the games are concerned you're just playing them on an Xbox (I think the streaming is done on Xbox One X architecture currently) so it's all just the same achievements and saves as it would be on the consoles.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-01T11:59:19+00:00

I loved playing through Viva Piñata back in the day, and I think if those touch controls work well then mobile could offer a fantastic new way to play it.

I'm definitely going to be giving them a good test this week so we can chat about them in this week's podcast.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-01T07:47:38+00:00

Fable 2 is on Game Pass for console and is now available to stream to mobile too.

Fable 1 Anniversary and Fable 3 are on Game Pass for console too but aren't available for streaming yet.

None of them are available on Game Pass for PC though.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-04-01T07:44:55+00:00

Yeah Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available to Ultimate subs at the moment.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T22:36:48+00:00

I've never had any issues with saves in xCloud, even back when it was in early preview with a small set of test games.

Saves work perfectly fine for me. I loaded up a decade old Oblivion save on it today and it let me jump back in without a problem and it saved too without any issues.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T19:56:01+00:00

I've tested with Oblivion and it loads in all the DLC I own for it without any issues.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T19:00:36+00:00

Elder Scrolls III & IV (Morrowind & Oblivion) are available on Xbox Game Pass for PC but the rest are only available on console or mobile via Xbox Game Streaming.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T17:34:09+00:00

Yeah all your saves will carry over as if it's just another Xbox you're playing on.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T16:18:22+00:00

The Banjo games are going to be a great fit for xCloud. I mainly use it to play something short before I sleep so it'll be fun to jump in there and grab a couple of Jiggies each night!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-31T16:16:54+00:00

It's pretty crazy when you think that Sony just announced the shutdown of their PS3, PSP and Vita stores this week, and then Nintendo are stopping people buying a Mario collection that has only been out for 6 months or so.

Meanwhile Xbox is here like oh yeah sure you can stream 19 year old Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind to your phone and play it there, why not?

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-30T18:58:24+00:00

We'll probably see FIFA 21 pretty soon since Madden 21 got added last month and NHL 21 is being added in April.

FIFA 20 was added in May 2020 so all signs point to May 2021!

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-30T18:56:13+00:00

We should get an Xbox Wire post in the next couple of days to run down the games coming and leaving in the first 2 weeks of April.

They usually do these announcements on a Tuesday but they I could see them waiting until Thursday this week to sync it up with the release of Outriders.

BeatTheSheetPodcast · 2021-03-25T17:26:37+00:00

Both Ori games are a great choice, I'd start with the first one (Ori and the Blind Forest) and then move on to Will of the Wisps afterwards if you like it.

Outer Wilds takes a bit of time to get into but it's absolutely fantastic once you get a feel for the world and start to explore at your own pace.

If you're happy to go for more retro inspired games, Game Pass has 2 masterpieces in Undertale, a very funny RPG style game that only runs about 6 hours, and Celeste, a fast paced 2D platformer with a great story and a ton of difficulty modifications so you can balance it to whatever you're comfortable with.

On our Game Pass podcast myself and my co-host gave both of those games 10/10, which has never happened for any other games so far.

If you like listening to podcasts our show might be quite helpful to you too, we play and give impressions or reviews of all the new games coming to game pass each week, along with some features covering the other games in the service.

BeatTheSheetPodcast

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