Game Pass ends 2023 strong with 2 Remnant games, 2 intriguing city builders

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Xbox makes a strong argument to subscribe to Game Pass for the holidays

By

Michael McWhertor
on November 30, 2023 3:16 pm

December’s list of Game Pass games is looking incredibly strong, with both Remnant: From the Ashes and this year’s sequel, Remnant 2, now available to subscribers on Xbox and Windows PC. But if a Soulslike shooter isn’t quite your speed, there are also two fantasy city builders coming to Game Pass in December: SteamWorld Build, a city management sim paired with mining excavation, and Against the Storm, where you’ll rebuild a diverse civilization in the face of apocalyptic rains.

Game Pass’ December lineup is either a fortunate coincidence of a bunch of good games coming to Microsoft’s game subscription service, or an end-of-year pitch to get a Game Pass sub this holiday. The rest of December’s confirmed Game Pass games also includes heavy hitters like Far Cry 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider (which returns to Game Pass next month), and World War Z: Aftermath, the zombie horde shooter that’s been more warmly received than the Brad Pitt movie it’s based on.

Here’s the list of confirmed games coming to Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on Xbox, PC, and Cloud for the first half of December:

Remnant: From the Ashes (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Available now
Remnant 2 (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) – Available now
Spirit of the North (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 1
SteamWorld Build (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 1
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – Dec. 5
Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 5
While the Iron’s Hot (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 5
World War Z: Aftermath (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 5
Goat Simulator 3 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – Dec. 7
Against the Storm (PC) – Dec. 8
Tin Hearts (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 12
Far Cry 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Dec. 14

Subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Core, the service formerly known as Xbox Live Gold, will also get two new additions to their game library in December: first-person medieval multiplayer slasher Chivalry 2 and wacky multiplayer physics-based delivery game Totally Reliable Delivery Service. Those games come to Core on Dec. 6.

Only a handful of games are leaving Game Pass in December. They are:

Chained Echoes (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Opus Magnum (PC)
Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Rubber Bandits (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Xbox Game Pass costs $10.99 a month, while PC Game Pass costs $9.99 a month. PC Game Pass includes EA Play access, which offers another 70 games on PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at $16.99 per month, gives subscribers access to everything — the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass libraries, EA Play on both console and PC — as well as access to online multiplayer. Xbox Game Pass Core costs $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.