People are currently spending time with loved ones and relaxing for a few days, while plenty of places are closed down for the next couple of weeks. If anything, that concept should be a shout-out to all those who continue to work during the holiday season. Regardless, many will likely sit down and relax with some video games, but if they were hoping for anything new from Xbox Game Pass for the rest of the month, then they’re in for a disappointment.
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No More Xbox Game Pass Games in 2022
Many noticed when the Xbox Game Pass game announcement for the second half of December was late, with some thinking it was going to be announced near the end of the normal week of instead of the start, but it has been recently confirmed that no more games are coming in the second half of the month. This is while similar services like PlayStation Plus Extra dropped a bunch of games on December 20, and Epic Games Store’s free mystery game promotion is well underway.
The final addition to Xbox Game Pass this year was, underwhelmingly, Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan on December 15. That’s no disrespect to the game, but its competition is Death Stranding on EGS (as well as more on the way for the end of the year) and franchises like Yakuza, Far Cry, and Middle-Earth on PS Plus.
It should be said that this end-of-year whimper comes from the number of games offered mostly, not the quality. High on Life recently dropped on Xbox Game Pass, beating out Minecraft and Forza Horizon 5 in popularity, and being one of the biggest additions of the year. The downside of that it is a relatively short game, not something fans can sink their teeth into in the coming weeks. And for right now, there is more new on offer from its competitors than Xbox Game Pass.
That said, Xbox Game Pass is definitely the dominant force in the subscription service game right now. While sometimes the end of the year can be reflective of what’s coming in the new one, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Xbox Game Pass will, almost certainly, get back to its regular programming in January, and many high-profile games are likely to fill it next year. After a long wait, Redfall and Starfield are but two examples of games coming to the service next year, while Hollow Knight: Silksong is joining Xbox Game Pass some time in the first half of the year as well. Things will no doubt shift and shuffle and it’s a bit lackluster to see Xbox Game Pass end things this way this year, but 2023 is right around the corner.
Xbox Game Pass users get a handful of games every day.
MORE: The 10 Best Xbox Game Pass Games of 2022
