Xbox Game Pass is starting November off strong. After half a year, It Takes Two, the acclaimed cooperative game from the makers of 2018’s A Way Out, is finally coming to the service, albeit only for those who pay for the premium tier. That’s alongside some other offerings (available to all subscribers). Here’s everything coming to Microsoft’s games-on-demand library in the next few weeks:
November 2
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Minecraft: Java and Bedrock editions (PC)
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Unpacking (Cloud, Console, PC)
November 4
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It Takes Two, via EA Play (Cloud, Console, PC)
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Kill it with Fire (Cloud, Console, PC)
November 9
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Football Manager 2022 (Cloud, Console, PC)
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Forza Horizon 5 (Cloud, Console, PC)
November 11
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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Definitive Edition (Console)
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One Step from Eden (Console, PC)
Of course, the Game Pass vat can apparently only hold so many pickles, and — this metaphor isn’t going anywhere, is it? But the following games are! They’ll leave the Xbox Game Pass library on November 15:
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Planet Coaster (Cloud, Console)
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Star Renegades (Cloud, Console, PC)
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Streets of Rogue (Cloud, Console, PC)
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The Gardens Between (Cloud, Console, PC)
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River City Girls (Cloud, Console, PC)
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Final Fantasy VIII HD (Console, PC)
Of note: Early last month, Sony added Final Fantasy VIII Remastered to PS Now, its Game Pass-competing games-on-demand service.
All in all, it’s another solid month in a steady run of solid months for Game Pass. Forza Horizon 5…man, I’ve been playing it (a lot), but am barred by an embargo agreement from sharing any details just yet. For now, I’ll simply point you toward Kotaku’s glowing preview from last month. As with all first-party Xbox games, Forza Horizon 5 is available at launch on Game Pass. But players who pony up for the premium editions of the game can start playing a few days early, on November 5.
The big jewel here is Hazelight’s It Takes Two. I’ve been looking forward to this one since it launched back in March, but haven’t yet found the time to check it out. The studio’s previous game, A Way Out, is easily a standout among co-op games from the past few years. There’s a notable dearth of such games these days, so it’s terrific to see one — by all accounts a well-made one, at that — get play on such a big stage.
The catch? It Takes Two is available via EA Play, access to which is available only for those who subscribe to the pricier Game Pass Ultimate membership — yet another example of the growing divide between the two Game Pass tiers.
Game Pass’s subscriber base has swelled by 37 per cent over the past year, up from 18 million in January, the last official figure provided by Microsoft. Unofficial numbers (including a throwaway line from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick during an interview with The Wrap) have pegged it at either 23 million or 30 million. Whatever the total, Microsoft hasn’t publicly said how that figure breaks down among pricing tiers.
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