Xbox Game Pass Is Losing Some Terrific Games This Month

Yes, the big Disney Animal Crossing clone rolls out on Game Pass today. But Microsoft’s popular games-on-demand service is set to take a big hit in September with the loss of some of its best games, including a must-play Final Fantasy and some intriguing indies. Here’s everything coming to and going from Xbox Game Pass in the coming weeks:

September 6

• Disney Dreamlight Valley: Founder’s Edition (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Opus Magnum (PC)
• Train Sim World 3 (Console, PC)

September 13

• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (PC)
• DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace (Cloud, Console, PC)

September 14

• You Suck At Parking (Cloud, Console, PC, Every single day you drive IRL)

September 15

• Despot’s Game (Console, PC)
• Metal: Hellsinger (Next-gen console, PC)

Disney Dreamlight Valley, basically the Disney+ catalogue by way of Animal Crossing and The Sims, is the obvious headliner, a hotly anticipated life-sim perfect for the folks who jet off to Disneyland at least once a year (you know who you are). I’m also eager to see what Metal: Hellsinger, a rhythm-based first-person shooter with heavy Doom Eternal vibes, is all about, though it’s a bummer that console players who have yet to secure an Xbox Series X or S are unable to check it out.

But two cool-looking games makes for a relatively thin lineup compared to the raft of titles heading out the door. The following are all gone as of September 15:

• A Plague Tale: Innocence (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Aragami 2 (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Craftopia (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Final Fantasy XIII (Console, PC)
• Flynn: Son of Crimson (Cloud, Console, PC)
• I Am Fish (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Lost Words: Beyond the Page (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Mighty Goose (Cloud, Console, PC)
• SkateBird (Cloud, Console, PC)
• The Artful Escape (Cloud, Console, PC)

The moody stealth game A Plague Tale: Innocence has been a longstanding staple of Kotaku’s list of the best games on Game Pass. (Its sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, is slated for release next month.) Though divisive, Final Fantasy XIII is far and away one of the most interesting entries in Square Enix’s RPG series. The platforming in Lost Words: Beyond the Page may be rudimentary, but a top-notch script — helmed by Tomb Raider and Mirror’s Edge scribe Rhianna Pratchett — anchors a gut-wrenching tale wrapped in fantasy escapism. Aragami 2 is a solidly fun co-op stealth game. SkateBird is THPS…except you’re a little baby bird. The Artful Escape is a four-hour fever dream of prog rock and bright lights. All are worth checking out.

Collectively, it’s a huge ding to the library, leaving a ton of holes that seemingly aren’t getting filled by any of the new additions. But hey, Disney Animal Crossing!