Highlights
- Chained Echoes, Opus Magnum, Potion Craft, and Rubber Bandits are being removed from Xbox Game Pass after today.
- Xbox Game Pass offers access to hundreds of games for a fee, but they rotate in and out of availability.
- Subscribers may want to purchase games they want to keep permanently.
After today, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will no longer be able to play Chained Echoes, Opus Magnum, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator, or Rubber Bandits through their subscription. December 2023 has been a pretty strong month for Xbox Game Pass thanks to a varied selection of new additions, but it's still sad to see games removed from the service.
Xbox Game Pass has often been pitched as the Netflix of video games. In exchange for a fee, subscribers get instant access to hundreds of games. The catch is that these games rotate in and out of availability, meaning subscribers may still want to purchase games they want to permanently keep for their digital libraries. Xbox Game Pass typically gives subscribers a couple of weeks' notice before games are removed from the lineup, and it also offers them at a 20% discount, meaning anyone that wants to keep the games can still do so without paying full price.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscribers Have 3 Free Games to Try This Weekend
Xbox Game Pass subscribers get to try an interesting assortment of games for free this weekend, as well as some tempting discounts.
Chained Echoes, Opus Magnum, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator, and Rubber Bandits are the next batch of Xbox Game Pass games getting removed from the service. All four games will be removed after December 15, meaning today is the last day for fans to try them without buying them outright. Out of the four games leaving Xbox Game Pass today, the most notable is Chained Echoes, which was first added to the service last year as a day one game.
Xbox Game Pass Games Leaving December 15
- Chained Echoes
- Opus Magnum
- Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
- Rubber Bandits
Chained Echoes is a turn-based RPG that released last year to widespread critical acclaim. It's currently one of the highest-rated Xbox Game Pass games, and for good reason. Critics have praised Chained Echoes' innovative combat system and engrossing story, with some going as far as to say that the game is one of the better JRPG-style games ever made. Considering how beloved Chained Echoes is, its removal from the Xbox Game Pass lineup is definitely going to sting, especially for fans of the genre.
While it's disappointing to see Chained Echoes, Opus Magnum, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator, and Rubber Bandits removed from Game Pass, the bright side is that December 2023 has otherwise been a fairly strong month for the service. 10 games have been added to Xbox Game Pass in December 2023 so far, including day one games like SteamWorld Build and Against the Storm, as well as older titles like Rise of the Tomb Raider, World War Z: Aftermath, Goat Simulator 3, and Far Cry 6. It's possible there are more Xbox Game Pass games on the way before the year is out, though that remains to be seen.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.