The Rest of Xbox Game Pass’ 2024 Line-Up Is Betting Big on One Genre

Highlights

• Xbox Game Pass in 2024 has seen some anticipated additions, but the overall output is not as high as last year.
• Xbox Game Pass continues to focus on strategy games, with over 30 currently available and three major titles lined up.
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers over 100 games for one purchase, making it a great value in the Xbox ecosystem.

2024 has been an interesting year for Xbox Game Pass. While it’s seen its fair share of hotly anticipated additions, and experienced the start of a new age of Activision day-one launches, Xbox Game Pass’ general 2024 output hasn’t quite reached the same heights as last year’s. That being said, 2024 is just halfway done, meaning there’s plenty of time for Xbox Game Pass to really knock it out of the park in the coming months.

The recent Xbox Showcase gave fans a pretty good idea of what heavy-hitters they can expect to see join Xbox Game Pass by the end of the year, but aside from those few, Game Pass’ 2024 line-up is still a bit of a mystery. At the time of writing, just 14 upcoming Xbox Game Pass titles have concrete 2024 release dates, and an interesting pattern has emerged between three of those entries.

The Rest of Xbox Game Pass’ 2024 Line-Up Is Relying Heavily on Strategy Games

Xbox Game Pass Has Always Been Home to Some Great Strategy Games

Since its very debut all the way back in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has been a haven for strategy games. Currently, there are well over 30 strategy games available on Xbox Game Pass. These include AAA first-party releases like the Halo Wars series, Gears Tactics, and Minecraft Legends, as well as beloved third-party additions like Stellaris, Crusader Kings 3, and Frostpunk. There are even a handful of Indie strategy titles on Game Pass, such as Slay the Spire and The Wandering Village.

While Xbox Game Pass has always been a melting pot of different genres, it’s often gone out of its way to secure some of the best strategy titles on the market. The Age of Empires franchise is a great example of this, with it being used several times as a way to market PC Game Pass, and Age of Empires 4 being used as a shadow-drop for Game Pass upon its console launch.

Whenever Xbox Game Pass is having a slower season, it tends to fall back on the strategy genre for support. Last year’s Cities: Skylines 2 was a great example of that, being a key part of the October 2023 line-up. The same happened earlier this year when the Indie darling Manor Lords became Steam’s most-wishlisted game and became a key player in its April line-up.

Xbox Game Pass has Three Major Strategy Games Lined Up

As things currently stand, the rest of Xbox Game Pass’ confirmed 2024 line-up is relying heavily on the strategy genre, with three major titles slated for release in the coming months, and each one playing a key role in Microsoft’s recent marketing. Frostpunk 2 is the first of these strategy games up to bat, releasing on July 25. A highly-anticipated sequel, Frostpunk 2‘s early previews have been pretty glowing, suggesting that the game is taking its predecessor’s strong groundwork and building upon it with some innovative new systems and mechanics.

The 2002 RTS classic Age of Mythology is being remade this year and is heading to Xbox and PC Game Pass on day one. Officially titled Age of Mythology: Retold, this remake launches on September 4 and not only collects all of the game’s original content and expansions but delivers it all in a neat, modernized package. Finally, there’s Ara: History Untold, a Civilization-like 4X strategy game that releases on September 24, and offers a unique ‘What if?’ hook, allowing players to explore alternate histories.