Highlights
- Charming steampunk puzzler Tin Hearts is now available on Xbox Game Pass.
- The game itself just received a free holiday update called Play Hard, which introduces a new character called Tim McClane and is essentially a love letter to Die Hard. The festive content is only available until January 10, 2024.
- Tin Hearts is the ninth game to join Xbox Game Pass in December 2023.
Xbox Game Pass today added Tin Hearts to its fast-flourishing content library. This release coincides with a new free update for the charming steampunk puzzler that's likely to get anyone in the holiday mood.
Originally released in spring 2023, Tin Hearts is envisioned as a narrative-driven take on a Lemmings-like puzzler. It thus tasks players with helping little toy soldiers navigate through dozens of levels in order to learn the story of their creator, genius inventor Albert J. Butterworth. Made by Rogue Sun, a studio consisting of former Fable developers from Lionhead, Tin Hearts is the ninth title to hit Xbox Game Pass in December.
Xbox Game Pass Core Adds 2 New Games Today
The first-ever expansion of Xbox Game Pass Core adds two new games to Microsoft's affordable subscription service, for a total of 38.
Its arrival on Microsoft's subscription service comes just in time for Xbox Game Pass members to experience a new Christmas update starring Tim McClane. The character is an homage to Bruce Willis's John McClane from Die Hard, which Rogue Sun describes as "the greatest Christmas movie ever." Tim isn't just a mere reskin of the toy soldiers featured in the base game, as he possesses unique scouting abilities that open up new strategies and shake up the core gameplay loop of Tin Hearts.
Xbox Game Pass December 2023 Games
- Spirit of the North (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 1
- SteamWorld Build (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 1
- Clone Drone in the Danger Zone (Cloud/PC/Xbox Series X) - December 5
- Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 5
- While the Iron's Hot (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 5
- World War Z: Aftermath (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 5
- Goat Simulator 3 (Cloud/PC/Xbox Series X) - December 7
- Against the Storm (PC) - December 8
- Tin Hearts (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 12
- Far Cry 6 (Cloud/Consoles/PC) - December 14
As another reference to Die Hard, Rogue Sun titled this free holiday update Play Hard. The new content isn't a permanent addition to the game, with publisher Wired Productions noting that Tin Hearts players only have until January 10 to experience it. Be that as it may, one month should be plenty of time to beat the base game's 50 puzzles spanning four acts and save Christmas as Tim McClane. Overall, this free Tin Hearts update looks like one of the most memorable video game Christmas events in recent memory, so it should be worth checking out for any Xbox Game Pass members looking to get into the holiday mood.
Apart from Xbox consoles and PC, the Play Hard content drop for Tin Hearts is also available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5. The PC and PlayStation versions of the game are still planned to be treated to a VR update in early 2024.
With this release out of the way, Xbox Game Pass subscribers have just one more confirmed game to look forward to this month: Far Cry 6. The latest entry in Ubisoft's long-running FPS franchise is scheduled to reach Microsoft's subscription service on December 14. Beyond that, Xbox Game Pass has already started confirming titles for January. In the meantime, Microsoft's track record indicates that there's a decent chance its subscription catalog will expand to even more games in the second half of December.
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.