Following a banner start to the year, Xbox Game Pass kicked off February not by continuing the streak but by purging some of its best games. Nothing major is getting the boot. But nothing huge is really coming, either. Here’s everything coming to Microsoft’s Netflix-for-games in the coming weeks:
February 15
- Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Cloud)
February 17
- Lawn Mowing Simulator (Console)
- Madden NFL 22, via EA Play (Console, PC)
- Total War: Warhammer III (PC)
February 22
- Roboquest, via game preview (PC)
February 24
- Galactic Civilizations III (PC)
- Super Mega Baseball 3, via EA Play (Console)
February 28
- Alice: Madness Returns, via EA Play (PC)
Meanwhile, the following will be unavailable starting February 28, with first-person shooter Titanfall following on March 1, a result of publisher EA totally delisting the game across digital platforms.
- Hypnospace Outlaw (Cloud, Console, PC)
- Killer Queen Black (Cloud, Console)
- Stealth Inc 2 (Cloud, Console)
- Touhou Luna Nights (Cloud, Console, PC)
Of the lineup, this week’s new strategy game, Total War: Warhammer III—which Luke reviewed just last night—is the only marquee. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a fine enough addition to cloud gaming, but the game itself has been part of the library all year. And while there are technically some sports games here, if you’re reading Kotaku, well, you probably know we’re not the biggest sports game enthusiasts around here, but if you’re excited about them, more power to you!.
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Now, just to be crystal clear here, this is not a complaint—not at all. There are already too many games on Xbox Game Pass for any one person to avail themselves of. Plus, it’d be patently ridiculous to grumble that one of gaming’s rare excellent deals isn’t getting more excellent. (Personally, I’m thankful for the breather.)
But it’s nonetheless interesting to note, both in the wake of the service’s incandescent lineups lately and its yearly subscription numbers. Last month, Microsoft announced that Game Pass hit 25 million subscribers, up from 18 million a year prior—growing, yes, but not at the rate it did through 2020. If Microsoft wants to keep that number trending upward, it’ll have to do better than this.
