Highlights
- Xbox Game Pass subscribers can expect new game announcements for August 2023 to be made in two separate waves, according to Microsoft's usual pattern.
- Four games are confirmed for Xbox Game Pass in August 2023: Celeste on August 1, Everspace 2 on August 15, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on August 18, and Sea of Stars on August 29.
- Sea of Stars will have a simultaneous release on both PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass on August 29.
Xbox Game Pass subscribers already have four games to look forward to in August 2023, with many more likely to be announced. Microsoft won't reveal the new Xbox Game Pass games for August 2023 all at once. Unless it deviates from the established pattern, fans can expect Microsoft to announce the new Xbox Game Pass games for the first half of the month at the beginning of August, with another announcement in the middle of the month for the second-half.
This is how Xbox Game Pass announcements typically go, with Microsoft often using the occasion to also announce the new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate perks and remind fans about which games are leaving the service. Barring any unforeseen shake-ups, this is what Xbox Game Pass subscribers can expect from the new Xbox Game Pass games for August 2023, though previous announcements have clued them in on some titles that they can expect to see next month.
In total, there are four Xbox Game Pass games currently confirmed for August 2023. They include Celeste on August 1, Everspace 2 on August 15, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on August 18, and finally, Sea of Stars on August 29. Platform specifics have yet to come for some of these, but fans can expect them all to be playable on Xbox consoles at the very least when they join the subscription service in August.
Xbox Game Pass August 2023 Games
- Celeste - August 1
- Everspace 2 - August 15
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - August 18
- Sea of Stars - August 29
Celeste is a unique when it comes to the new Xbox Game Pass games for August 2023 in that it was actually a part of the Game Pass July 2023 announcement. For some reason, Microsoft decided to clue Xbox Game Pass subscribers in on Celeste ahead of time, but that's not the only way it stands out from the other new Game Pass games for August 2023. Celeste has actually been a part of Xbox Game Pass before but was removed from the service, so August 1 is its big return.
For Xbox Game Pass subscribers that have yet to play Celeste, they should definitely be looking forward to its comeback on August 1. Celeste is tough-as-nails platformer with an emotional narrative that stands tall as one of the highest-rated games of all time. Celeste won numerous awards and earned a great deal of critical acclaim, which is why fans are so excited for developer Extremely OK Games' next title, Earthblade.
A couple of weeks after Celeste joins the Xbox Game Pass service, Everspace 2 is getting added to the lineup. A space combat game, Everspace 2 first released for PC Game Pass back in April, but now it's coming to consoles. Everspace 2 has earned mostly positive reviews on PC, and while it remains to be seen how console gamers will react to it, it should make it a solid addition to the Game Pass console library. Those interested can check out Everspace 2 on August 15.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game is coming to Xbox Game Pass three days after Everspace 2, on August 18. A brand-new asymmetric multiplayer horror game in the same vein of Dead by Daylight, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 3v4 game where three players take on the role of Leatherface and his twisted family members, while four others play as the unlucky survivors. The game is mostly based on the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre film from 1974, which should make it especially appealing to fans of the old-school slasher horror franchise. And with Friday the 13th: The Game shutting down, there's certainly room for a new asymmetric multiplayer horror game on the block.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre's multiplayer-only focus makes it a perfect fit for Xbox Game Pass. This way, Texas Chain Saw Massacre has a built-in audience right off the bat, which should ensure that there are plenty of players out of the gate. Of course, it will only be able to maintain its audience if the game is actually good, so it will be interesting to see how Texas Chain Saw Massacre fares come August 18.
And finally, the fourth game confirmed for Xbox Game Pass in August 2023 is throwback RPG Sea of Stars. Set to launch on August 29, Sea of Stars takes inspiration from genre classics like Chrono Trigger, and what's been shown so far proves that the game has a ton of potential. Sea of Stars is notable for not only being a day one Xbox Game Pass game, but also a day one PS Plus Extra game, the first time a game has been released on day one for both services simultaneously. This should make it so many more people have the chance to play Sea of Stars than would have otherwise, and one has to wonder if any future games will have simultaneous day one releases across PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass in future.