Almost a year after Microsoft brought Diablo 4 to Xbox Game Pass, the company is bringing the original game, and many others, to the service soon.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick — offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One, and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription provides access to a large library of games, with new titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 added every month, plus benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.
Read more: Your Phone Might Soon Be All You Need to Game
Here are all the games Microsoft added to Game Pass in January. You can also check out the games Microsoft added to the service in December, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Lightyear Frontier (game preview)
Available: Jan. 8
If you’ve ever thought, “Yeah, farm life games like Stardew Valley are fun, but they need more Gundams,” this game is for you. You play as a farmer building an interstellar homestead full of alien crops and fauna, all with the help of your trusty mech suit. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have been able to access this game since March, and if you have a Game Pass Standard subscription, you’ll be able to access this game soon, too.
“Use combat-focused tools in a violence-free way, such as a chainsaw and machine gun loaded with seeds, as instead of fighting the wildlife, you’ll use your arsenal to gather resources, shoot seeds into the ground, water crops, and clean up the environment, making it habitable for you and your friends,” Anita Stenholm, marketing and events manager of Frame Break, told Xbox.com in February, 2024.
My Time at Sandrock (console)
Available: Jan. 8
Microsoft gave Game Pass Ultimate subscribers access to this game in July, and soon the company will give Game Pass Standard Subscribers access to it, as well.
It feels weird to describe this title as “cozy,” since it takes place in a postapocalyptic world about 300 years after most technology was destroyed. But I also don’t know how else to describe a game that has two chonky cats named Banjo and Captain who have quests for you to complete. Otherwise, this life sim is full of crafting, farming and the occasional fights with bandits and monsters.
Robin Hood — Sherwood Builders
Available: Jan 8
Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can already play as the legendary heroic outlaw in this action-adventure title, and Game Pass Standard subscribers will be able to join in the fun soon. It’s up to you and your band of merry men to free Sherwood from the tyrannical Sheriff of Nottingham. You can fight, hunt, craft and steal from the rich to give to the poor. You’ll also run into other legendary characters along the way, like Lady Marian and Little John.
Rolling Hills (console)
Available: Jan. 8
More than six months after Microsoft let Game Pass Ultimate subscribers control a robotic sushi chef in this cozy management game, the company is bringing this game to Game Pass Standard subscribers. Buy the right ingredients, improve your shop and make friends with your neighbors as you try to improve the lives of those around you.
EA Sports UFC 5
Available: Jan. 14
Microsoft
Punch, kick and grapple your way to the top in the latest MMA fighting game. But it’s not going to be easy. Your character can sustain significant injuries, rendered in more detail than in previous games, in each fight. And if your character’s eyes swell shut or the injuries are too much an in-game doctor will stop the match.
Martial arts enthusiasts can also play as Bruce Lee, one of the most celebrated martial artists of all time, as a limited time playable character until Feb. 11.
Diablo (PC)
Available: Jan. 14
Microsoft
Game Pass Ultimate and PC subscribers can boot up their PC — sorry console players — and go back to the legendary town of Tristram in the first installment of this iconic franchise. Explore overrun catacombs, teeter on the precipice of Hell and destroy countless monsters on your quest to stop the demon lord Diablo. Whether you’re setting off on an adventure in this dark gothic fantasy world for the first time, or experiencing it again, you won’t forget this genre-defining RPG.
Games leaving Game Pass soon
While Game Pass subscribers will be able to play those games soon, Microsoft is removing six games from the service on Jan. 15. So you still have some time to finish campaigns and wrap up any sidequests before you have to buy these games separately.
Common’hood
Escape Academy
Exoprimal
Figment
Insurgency Sandstorm
Those Who Remain
For more on Xbox, check out other games available on Game Pass Ultimate now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you.
Play the Original Diablo, UFC 5 and More on Xbox Game Pass Soon
