Xbox Game Pass nabs the next chapter of the amazing SteamWorld series

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The brand new city-builder SteamWorld Build arrives on Xbox Game Pass as a day one release this month (Image: Thunderful)
The brand new city-builder SteamWorld Build arrives on Xbox Game Pass as a day one release this month (Image: Thunderful)

Xbox Game Pass is showing no signs of slowing down as a whopping 12 games are hitting in the next two weeks, giving you plenty to do over Christmas.

After the surprise drop of Remnant 2 on Xbox Game Pass earlier today, Microsoft has released the full Xbox Game Pass December 2023 lineup today. Unlike most months where there are two separate drops, Xbox has confirmed that only one batch is coming in December. However, this drop has more than enough included to carry you through the Christmas season.

Among the 12 games releasing on Xbox Game Pass over the next two weeks is the brand new entry in the beloved SteamWorld series – SteamWorld Build – which launches as a day one Xbox Game Pass release on Friday, December 1. SteamWorld started off all the way back in 2010 on the Nintendo DSi with SteamWorld Tower Defense, but it's perhaps best known for the excellent Metroidvania SteamWorld Dig. Since the series began, it's spanned multiple genres, such as tower defense, platformer, strategy RPG, and even a deck-builder.

SteamWorld Build is part-city-builder and part-dungeon crawler as you manage a small mining town on an alien planet, while also hitting the mines to find alien technology to help you escape the planet and return home. The game has received solid pre-launch reviews, sitting at a 77 on OpenCritic.

Also arriving this month is the massive open-world title Far Cry 6, which is currently the final announced title arriving in December on Thursday, December 14. If you've played a Far Cry game before you know exactly the kind of game you're in for here, with this title featuring Breaking Bad's Gaincarlo Esposito in the role of the villainous Antón Castillo.

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Xbox Game Pass December 2023 free games

The following is the full list of Xbox Game Pass December 2023 games as released by Microsoft on the Xbox Wire blog. Titles listed in bold are day one releases:

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

Xbox also confirmed two more games are joining the Xbox Game Pass Core library this month

  • Chivalry 2 – December 6
  • Totally Reliable Delivery Service – December 6

Xbox Game Pass Core is the cheapest version of the subscription, giving you access to online play and a smaller curated version of the Xbox Game Pass library on Xbox consoles.

Games leaving Xbox Game Pass December 2023

Yes, even at Christmas time Microsoft sadly has to remove some more Xbox Game Pass titles. The following titles will be leaving the subscription on Friday, December 15:

  • Chained Echoes
  • Opus Magnum
  • Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
  • Rubber Bandits

As always, if you're an Xbox Game Pass subscriber you can pick these titles up to keep at a discount of at least 20% before they leave the service. While Xbox is only releasing one batch of new Xbox Game Pass titles this month, we're expecting to hear about the second batch of games leaving the service on December 30 at some point over the coming weeks.

Scott McCrae

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