Xbox Game Pass adds new titles to Core tier in lone December update

Xbox announced several new games coming to Game Pass in December — in fact, in a switch-up from the usual formula, it announced everything coming to December in a single update, rather than in two separate waves. It also announced the first additions to the Xbox Game Pass Core library since the tier launched earlier this year. The December update only includes two Day One game launches, though this is expected given fewer games launch in this month.

The first games to be added this week include co-op ARPG Remnant: From the Ashes and its sequel, Remnant II. The latter has posted excellent sales numbers for the year and kept pace with some of 2023’s biggest releases. In addition, we also get a Day One launch today with Steamworld Build, a city-builder/dungeon-crawler hybrid; and Spirit of the North, a foxy little adventure game.

Next week’s additions include the second Day One launch: While the Iron’s Hot, an adventure game about an apprentice blacksmith which launches on December 5. The week’s other games include arena battler Clone Drone in the Danger Zone, returning Game Pass title Rise of the Tomb Raider, third-person shooter World War Z: Aftermath (all Dec 5), chaotic sandbox Goat Simulator 3 (Dec 7) and city-builder Against the Storm (Dec 8).

The final games coming to Game Pass in December are the Victorian-style puzzler Tin Hearts (Dec 12) and Ubisoft’s Far Cry 6 (Dec 14). Ordinarily Xbox would announce the second wave of the month after the launch of the last game of the wave, but apparently Xbox is taking a break for the holiday season.

Xbox Game Pass Core is getting its first new additions to its library since it launched in July. Core, which is the evolved form of Xbox Live Gold reintegrated into Xbox, started with a library of about 25 games. While Core won’t have the many library additions of the Console, PC and Ultimate tiers, Xbox has still promised to update it 2-3 times a year. Chivalry II and Totally Reliable Delivery Service both join on December 6.

As always, we must sacrifice some games in order to have so many added to the library. We’re only losing four games in this announcement (though I suspect there might be others at the end of the year): Chained Echoes, Opus Magnum, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator and Rubber Bandits. All four leave the service on December 15.