Highlights
- Xbox Game Pass members have until midnight to play Galactic Civilizations 3 and OPUS: Echo of Starsong before they leave the service.
- Galactic Civilizations 3 is an incredibly complex game with lengthy 4X strategy campaigns, making it impossible for newcomers to fully explore before it goes.
- OPUS: Echo of Starsong boasts a 10-hour story with "Overwhelmingly Positive" Steam reviews and is hence beatable in a day.
Today is the last day for Xbox Game Pass members to play Galactic Civilizations 3 and OPUS: Echo of Starsong, two popular titles with "Mostly" and "Overwhelmingly Positive" Steam reviews, respectively. Both will be leaving Xbox Game Pass at midnight local time on February 16, although that's actually enough time to beat one of them.
While Microsoft's subscription catalog tends to expand in increments that are a few days or—at most—weeks apart, its outgoings are much more predictable. Specifically, the service only tends to lose titles in the middle and at the end of each month. The last such move saw Xbox Game Pass drop Hitman: World of Assassination and F1 2021 on January 31, although the Formula One simulation was only ever available to PC Game Pass and Ultimate-tier members in the first place.
Xbox Game Pass Adds AAA Game With 'Very Positive' Reviews Today
The latest Xbox Game Pass update brings yet another AAA game with excellent user reviews to Microsoft's subscription service.
Two weeks later, the subscription catalog is now on the brink of losing the 4X strategy game Galactic Civilizations 3, as well as the visual novel adventure OPUS: Echo of Starsong. The former had a longer stint on Microsoft's service that started in February 2022, almost exactly two years ago to date. Meanwhile, OPUS: Echo of Starsong has only been available on Xbox Game Pass since August 2022, a little under 18 months.
Xbox Game Pass Games Leaving February 15
- Galactic Civilizations III (PC)
- Opus: Echo of Starsong (Cloud, Console, and PC)
As is the case with any 4X game worth its salt, Galactic Civilizations 3 is all about replayability, with a typical campaign usually running for at least a couple dozen hours, depending on one's settings. As such, there's no longer enough time for newcomers to delve into Stardock Entertainment's popular sci-fi strategy via Xbox Game Pass and get much out of it before it leaves the service.
OPUS: Echo of Starsong Is Beatable in a Day
On the other hand, OPUS: Echo of Starsong offers a 10-hour story, which is fairly typical for a visual novel-style adventure but short enough for at least some Xbox Game Pass members to beat it before it leaves Microsoft's content catalog at the end of the day. Doing so is very much the recommended course of action for anyone who has the time to do so and likes story-driven experiences, not least because OPUS: Echo of Starsong is one of the most memorable and impressively complex visual novel games in recent memory.
And while both titles are expected to soon be treated to 20% Microsoft Store discounts that are customary for first-time Game Pass outgoings, one of them can actually be grabbed for even cheaper right now. Specifically, OPUS: Echo of Starsong is one of the February 15 Daily Deals on Steam, where it's currently available at 50% off until 11am ET. Despite this sci-fi-themed wave of outgoings, February is proving to be another strong month for Microsoft's subscription library, with Xbox Game Pass already adding eight new titles since the turn of the month.
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.