Highlights

  • Xbox Game Pass has had a strong start to 2024 with the addition of great titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Persona 3 Reload.
  • However, the February line-up is a bit lacking in major releases, with games like Train Sim World 4 and PlateUp! dominating the line-up.
  • The inclusion of Resident Evil 3 Remake in February's line-up could suggest a new pattern for Xbox Game Pass, where major franchise entries are released one month after their predecessors, capitalizing on the series' hype.

Generally speaking, Xbox Game Pass has had a pretty solid start to 2024. Though there haven't been too many day-one AAA releases, Xbox Game Pass has added some great titles over the last two months, ranging from high-profile releases like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Persona 3 Reload to Indie gems like Turnip Boy Robs a Bank and Palworld.

But Xbox Game Pass does seem to be slowing down a bit this month. Aside from Persona 3 Reload, February's Xbox Game Pass line-up is looking a little bare, at least in terms of major releases, with games like Train Sim World 4, A Little to the Left, PlateUp!, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night dominating the line-up. While these games are good in their own right, they're not quite the heavy hitters that Xbox Game Pass has been thriving on for the best part of seven months now. But there is one February Game Pass game that stands out among the rest, and it being a part of this month's line-up could pave the way for an exciting new Xbox Game Pass pattern.

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Resident Evil 3 Could Set an Exciting New Trend for Xbox Game Pass

Resident Evil 3's Xbox Game Pass Release Has Been Timed Perfectly

Last month, Xbox Game Pass added Resident Evil 2 Remake, a game that fans have been requesting to come to the service for years now. First released in 2019, Resident Evil 2 Remake is still widely believed to be one of, if not the greatest survival horror games of all time, currently sitting at a 91 on Metacritic, and being the current gold standard for any video game remake.

While die-hard Resident Evil fans will have played through Resident Evil 2 Remake countless times already, its recent release on Xbox Game Pass means that it can target just about anyone else who's been avoiding the remake for the last five years. Though exact statistics aren't currently available, it seems likely that Resident Evil 2 Remake's release on Xbox Game Pass brought in a fair share of new fans, and now, those newcomers don't have to wait long at all before they can experience the next entry in the beloved survival horror franchise.

Arriving on February 13, Resident Evil 3 Remake will hit Xbox Game Pass just less than a month before its predecessor did. While Resident Evil 3 Remake may not be the most acclaimed or beloved entry in the franchise, its being included with Xbox Game Pass helps to nullify a lot of the game's major criticisms relating to length and value. For those who have just finished Resident Evil 2 Remake for the first time, it's a real treat to be able to just hop right into the sequel, and it's a release strategy that would be great to see again from Xbox Game Pass.

Resident Evil 2 Remake came to both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus in January, but at the time of writing, Resident Evil 3 Remake is only coming to Game Pass in February, though that could change in the coming days.

Resident Evil 3 Might Be The First In a New Xbox Game Pass Strategy

While it isn't too unusual for sequels to join their predecessors on Xbox Game Pass, these additions often happen months after the original game was added, if not years later in some cases. Often the only time when multiple entries of a franchise have been released at once on Xbox Game Pass is during major events such as Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda, or when all the Yakuza games came to Game Pass in July 2022.

Resident Evil 3 Remake's release on Xbox Game Pass is a bit of a rarity, following its predecessor just a month later. It would be great to see a new pattern for Xbox Game Pass emerge from this, where a major franchise entry drops one month, and if fans are responding well, the next entry hits the service the month later, capitalizing on the series' newfound hype and letting fans experience as much of the franchise as possible for no extra cost.