Xbox Game Pass confirms five games hitting the service between now and October 3, following the recent early release of Lies of P. Technically speaking, Lies of P's official release is September 19, but fans got to play the day-one game even sooner on the 18th (aside from the early access period). This is because Neowiz and Microsoft dropped Lies of P on Xbox Game Pass a surprising day early, but the good times don't stop there.
Including Lies of P, Xbox Game Pass is adding 5 day-one games as part of this "Wave 2" for the service. Six games are being added in total, and while some fans may be upset that the general quantity of the service seems to be declining, there's plenty of quality among the titles. Lies of P had good reviews, and it's being followed by a variety of different games too.
The day-one Xbox Game Pass titles are Party Animals, Payday 3, Cocoon, and The Lamplighter's League, joining on September 20, September 21, September 29, and October 3, respectively. Gotham Knights is also joining Xbox Game Pass on October 3.
Of these titles, Party Animals is an animal-based party brawler akin to Gang Beasts, Payday 3 is the long-awaited co-op FPS heist threequel, Cocoon comes from the mind of Jeppe Carlsen (who was the lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside), and The Lamplighter's League is a globe-trotting pulp adventure game with strategic turn-based combat. Rounding out is Gotham Knights, a co-op action RPG set in the beloved Gotham City.
Xbox Game Pass List (September - October 2023)
- Lies of P (Available now)
- Party Animals (September 20 - Cloud and Console)
- Payday 3 (September 21 - Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S)
- Cocoon (September 29 - Console and PC)
- Gotham Knights (October 3 - Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S)
- The Lamplighter's League (October 3 - Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S)
As a whole, it's a pretty strong selection with a plethora of games. Adding action-adventure titles, action RPGs, co-op first-person shooters, party brawlers, and a soulslike game to Xbox Game Pass in one fell swoop speaks to the variety of the service, though it's worth noting that some of these games were made available even sooner. It's been a season of early access games, as even before Game Pass added Lies of P early, fans were able to play it by purchasing a more costly edition.
The same goes for Payday 3 as well, with its servers even going down because of the influx of early-access players. As a whole, it may be an odd time to keep up with release dates, but it's also clearly a good time.
Xbox Game Pass subscribers get a handful of games every month.