Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In September 2022 So Far

Hopefully they’ll be joined by Deathloop

Running an Xbox website in 2022 is rough.

Grounded looks like a lot of fun!

None of these games are my cup of tea, but Train Sim World 3 and Disney Dreamlight Valley seem like the sorts of games that seem low key at first but could blow up when Game Pass subscribers give them a go.

@Feffster that'd be an awesome addition; hopefully we get some updates soon regarding Deathloop's exclusivity.

I'm excited for the Disney game. Love Disney and always will.

@RBRTMNZ I've shared this sentiment for a while now lol

@GoninChelsea No, I'm just expressing my empathy for anyone who has to do the very hard work of finding exciting Xbox news in 2022. It is possible to be critical of the ***** year Xbox has had without it being fanboy nonsense. I love my Xbox but this year has been bad with major delays, Halo failing, a weak GP slate compared to previous years, and little else to generate excitement.

@Rafie Gotta be honest, I do find this depressing. Not because you’re excited for a Disney game, the game looks visually decent, but because you’re effectively excited to play a f2p game we are being charged money to play early. And you’re not at all alone in this. It’s depressing because we can probably expect a lot more f2p games as part of our gamepass sub… I’d just love to know why people are cool with that

Ok for grounded the rest is crap or not my type of games so September looks dull, but they always have unannounced games up their sleeves so we will wait anyway my backlog is already too long .

@Bleachedsmiles I didn't know you had to pay money for it. So there's that. Even still, I'm happy to play the game because I like Disney and the "Animal Crossing-ish" vibe it has.

is gamepass slowing down? It almost feels like these last two months have been incredibly slow and not great as for games being added to gamepass. I feel like the honeymoon with gamepass is over....we need some kick ass announcements with all these delays

@Rafie I know, and that’s the trick. It would be cool if this was just on Xbox, rather than on a subscription. Odds are they’re not putting it on gamepass for free (maybe they are, and then it becomes a non - issue). But what will happen is it will likely get some decent traction on gamepass - it’s Disney, adults with kids will certainly gravitate towards it. It will start building its player base… now all this is good for the game. I don’t particularly think it’s good for us subscribers…as it will likely lead to more early access f2p games coming to the service. If they’re on it for free then fine…if however they’re paid to be put on gamepass…we’re effectively being charged to play f2p games…when that money could go else where.

I’d love to know how much Disney have gotten for this.

I’d also love to know that if this wasn’t on gamepass but was still charging for the chance to play a f2p game early, how much would people be willing to pay for early access to f2p games?

Man, they really pump these train sim games out. I feel sorry for anyone that bought dlc for the last game.

@Rafie
You look way too gangster in your pic to be all about this Disney kids game lol!!

Im excited for train sim 3 and the fact I can carry across the previous dlc is a solid bonus.

Ooof gamepass has really went downhill this year..

@Stoned_Patrol 🤣🤣🤣 Man I'm a total goofball. I turned 40 a couple of months back and STILL love cartoons. Disney had a hand in my upbringing. So I got a soft spot for them.

Oh man, its not even near September and im already feeling a little dissapointment. Grounded is a good offering you can point to as a worthwhile addition, allthough its not a game I would normally play.
Slim pickings again from the looks of it, and im suprised MS still hasn't made a couple of AAA additions to disprove the narritive that psplus is its equal. I really expected them to take some action that confidently stated "we are the subscription daddies around here!", but if anything, the last few months have been poorer rather than richer re content.
Im sure there will be more to come.

Disney, Grounded, and Moonscars. +1

@MetalGear_Yoshi I'm not a fan of how they keep re-releasing new stuff quickly, a boatload of mismanaged DLC, and then a sequel, but the good news is this game works like Hitman where it's basically a new frontend client, but all your old content will work with it in the new engine, so buying the prior DLC actually gets improved by having the new game client from 3. I think they said it won't all work at launch though, but it's additive, the DLC will work in 3 with updated weather etc.

@NEStalgia Oh, that's very consumer friendly than. Good on them.

It's a series that I think I like the idea of more than actually playing it if that makes sense. It didn't really grab me when I bit the bullet and tried the second one out though unfortunately. Same thing happened with MS Flight Sim as well.

It does look really great for those that are fans of trains though. It must be a lot of fun to get to operate different engines on different lines around the world if it's something you're into.

@MetalGear_Yoshi I may or may not have had a reputation of being a bit of a train fan at one time on these forums....

The series is generally fantastic. However it's a very very very buggy mess. Like Bethesda/CDPR level buggy mess. In TSW 1 there's an Amtrak route on the Northeast Corridor to NYC. Unless you did everything EXACT at the right moment the game expected, when you got to the 5 minute layover in NJ the signal would stay red. If you crossed it you'd fail for passing the signal. If you stayed put, the game would keep you there forever. If you use the radio to request a signal change you get refused.

Ok, so that's an actually authentic Amtrak simulation, then....my mistake...

But seriously it has tons of bugs like that. Controls that just stop responding on the train and you can't get it running, missions where the objectives just vanish or never spawn or the trigger events just don't trigger....it's pretty broken a lot of the time.

OTOH it's the most complete train simulation out there, and it does get into the details pretty heavily if you want it to. It's kind of a love-hate thing. The real problem with these train and aviation simulators is just time. Interacting with vehicles is amazing, but it simulates reality. And most of the reality of a train or a plane is spending hours sitting in a chair waiting for something to happen (or not.) So...the game simulates the boredom of the real thing for hours on end.

Really it's the takeoff/landing in flight sim is the only interesting part. For TSW it's a little more engaging....if you pick a freight line with nothing between it's pretty boring. If you pick a busy, dense corridor there's a lot to do because you're maintaining speeds at different grades and crossings and managing a slow stop etc it's great. But it means only about half the routes are really that interesting.

Dense passenger routes have a lot of starts and stops to manage (and stopping isn't a fast process.) The freight routes are their most interesting, but are also boring, because in the yards you have to keep getting out of the train and manually switching the tracks. That gets slow and annoying.

I love it, and yet I don't play it nearly as much as I'd think I would because of all that.

@RBRTMNZ As an owner of both consoles and a high end PC gamer I'd imagine it's not been any different for anyone except for the rumor mill about GPU's coming this year but other than that if you're a gaming focused site it's been pretty tame for everyone this year.

Nothing this year has really stuck around. God of War is the only Sony title that is really going to be good... Assuming they don't somehow screw it up.

Gamepass has actually been the best thing around. I've discovered tons of games that I'd otherwise never have played. There have been day 1 indie titles and 3rd party titles that have been good with more coming like Scorn in October and Plagues Tale this year too.

Halo Infinite has had a rough go at it but the core gameplay is good enough that it's been in the top 10 online games every month and once forge is released it's going to change not only the game but potentially the genre itself. There's also rumor's that Microsoft has id working on new multiplayer modes or 1 big mode. Certain Affinity is making a big mode. Chances are season 3 will be the beginning of what mp was always supposed to be. I think it will end up being the biggest comeback story since No Man's Sky.

There's also some rumblings that Sony has been paying developers and publishers to not release day 1 gamepass which is actually something I heard from 3 separate people who are in the industry but at different companies and don't know each other. Then just a few days ago I saw sites reporting on it.

I believe it, I was skeptical before because even insiders misunderstand things sometimes and since we all expected a Sony gamepass I assumed it was actually that but what Sony delivered is actually kinda crap and not worth the money. I only have it because I heard rumors so on black Friday I bought 4 years worth of ps+ & ps now for $25 a year from best buy. So I'm paid up through February 2027.

I do hope this is the last year that everyone supports previous gen consoles. They are holding this generation back and it sucks. Although PC gamers are actually holding gaming back too because most people are on 5+ year old hardware. Hardware every bit as weak as last gen consoles. So basically the high end is just playing the same old kinda games just at 4k with some minor ray tracing.

2022 has been crap for gaming all around. I've spent most of the year playing Forza Horizon 5 & back catalog games.

First half of 2022 was rough this hope they will end the second half of the year with a strong note.

Cmon MS, impress!

@d0x3601 I definitely do not think it is true that all the consoles are having a bad year. If anything Sony and Nintendo are having banner years while Microsoft languishes. Sony has God of War, Horizon, Sifu, Stray, Gran Turismo, Last of Us Remake, Valkyrie Elysium, Babylon's Fall, Ghostwire Tokyo, PSVR 2 news, and a new subscription service that rivals GP. Switch has Pokemon Arceus, Kirby, Neon White, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade 3, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Bayonetta 3, Mario + Rabbids 2, Switch Sports, Triangle Strategy, Live A Live, Mario Kart DLC, Kirby Dream Puff, Mario Strikers, Fire Emblem Three Hopes, Monster Hunter Sunbreak, N64 added to online, and a bunch of smaller releases. Xbox has Pentiment, Tunic, Rogue Legacy, and a fine but definitely down year for GP.

@RBRTMNZ Sony has god of war... Was the rest of the lineup really any good or worth the hype? Not really. Sifu was the standout game and they didn't even make it nor is it technically exclusive, it's just exclusive for a year.

Horizon oh Horizon...The press made a huge deal about Horizon but it's not a big seller, especially for one of very few exclusive games. The original was the same. It's like a cheap tomb raider with robots. The thing is Sony always makes visually good looking games with the depth of a puddle.

Sifu didn't sell either, not on either platform. Don't get me wrong it was interesting and I personally enjoyed it but that doesn't mean much plus if we can claim indies as exclusives then Microsoft won hands down. There were tons TONS of them on gamepass, more than you listed. There was at least a couple per month. Some of them new to console but that's irrelevant.

In fact gamepass is probably around 35-40 million users by now. Microsoft was at 25 million in January.

Gran Turismo... I bought that, I bought everything Sony released but it didn't feel good even though I bought the fanatec wheel for it which wasn't cheap. I probably spent $3000 to play that game optimally and then didn't play it much and neither did anyone else. Hardcore following? Absolutely, but it's tiny. I'm a sim racer at heart and I find myself playing Forza Horizon 5 which doesn't even support my new racing rig. Hop

TLOUS Remake Remake... No thanks. I loved the original but I'm not buying it a 3rd time and its odd that they had naughty dog working on that instead of something new.

Ghost Wire Tokyo was another flop. Heavily discounted 2 months in and not a first party title either.

Even if something isn't exclusive if it's day 1 gamepass and $70 on ps5 then it belongs on the Xbox list. Especially if you are skipping tons of indies and listing games that are year exclusives for Sony not actually exclusive... Or necessarily good, didn't sell to expectations or both.

I'll stop listing there but Nintendo is Nintendo, and is usually amazing although last year wasnt very good and I would count emulation on the list because then you need to add basically every console from Atari to GameCube on the series X. It has more backwards compatibile PlayStation 1, 2 & 3 games than Sony does on ps5 lol.

Saying it was a hard year to be an Xbox owner is incredibly disingenuous. Day 1 3rd party games, new to console and exclusive to Xbox and day 1 gamepass indies. You make it sound dire but if that was actually true then Sony wouldn't be paying companies to not be on gamepass. A tactic that they can't keep up and their answer to gamepass is terrible. I'm paid in through 2025 so I really hope that changes.

On gamepass I know the plan is likely starting in 2023 due to COVID or Sony meddling delaying it a year but the plan is essentially a big exclusive basically every month.

So you have sony preventing or delaying games from coming to Xbox.. more anti consumer behavior meanwhile Microsoft has never taken games away from Sony just to be jerks. They have done the opposite and released them on PlayStation. So I'd rather support that attitude, crossplay/save, buy once play anywhere, gamepass, just all of it. Plus there's Xbox rewards so you can basically have gamepass ultimate free for life after paying for a 3 month membership.

@d0x3601 So if I'm understanding this missive correctly you have two main points...

1. The popular and critically acclaimed games released on other consoles are not as good as everyone says they are and to support this you offer your personal (Seemingly biased) opinions on the popular and critically acclaimed games.

2. Microsoft, a 2 trillion dollar company, deserves a pass on GP having a down year because They were consistently outbid by a company 1/20th their size.

Those aren't good arguments.

Whaaaat that's awesome Commandos 3! I remember loving the first one. Pumped for a spruced up reminisce

@Titntin but it's not just game pass. It's the whole industry even Playstation is postponing releases (except for God of War) even the Harry Potter game was pushed back to 2023. Covid screwed up a lot of things with game development being one of them. October and November look good for releases and the first quarter to half of 2023 will be loaded. But that's going to be a problem in itself. Since best have will get overlooked because so many good games are going to release with in a very short period.

@RBRTMNZ I took something a little different from that. Or maybe I have a slightly different view. Neither Sony or Xbox knocked out of the park in 2022. Both have had some of their best games people have been waiting for postponed beds of covid. And ones that were released like horizon were over shadowed by another game no one expected to take away all their hype (elder ring). Everyone is having games pushed back direct matter the platform, xbox, pc or Playstation. The last half of 2022 has been a bust. So the first part of 2023 will be loaded. But with so many games pushed into the save time period we are going to have some great games loose getting the attention they deserve.

@Oggiedoggie Yeah, I guess a covid dip was inevitable.
I feel sorry for anything trying to get noticed in early 2023..

@Oggiedoggie I don't think the existence of Elden ring precludes Sony and Nintendo from having amazing years. I realize that may not be your opinion but based on subjective criteria like critical and popular reception Sony and Nintendo have released a bunch of bangers and have more scheduled for this year.

I also think your comment about delays misses the mark. Sony delayed one game to 2023, Forespoken. They indicated that it is finished but they delayed it because they don't want it to compete with their other fall releases. They literally have too many games this fall. Nintendo delayed Zelda but they had Pokémon on deck to fill the spot. They can still slot in Advanced Wars if they have an empty month. And rumor has it we are getting a Metroid Prime remake.

It is simply not true that the other console makers are failing in 2002. They are having great years. Xbox is the only console maker having a ***** year. They should have delayed Halo to this year and released it with coop and a steady stream of multiplayer content. 2021 would have still been great without Halo, 2022 wouldn't be barren, and the people would not have abandoned multiplayer due to the lack of content.