Xbox Game Pass Loses Game Enjoyed by Millions
Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have lost access to a few games across Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC, including one game that has been enjoyed by millions to date. Yesterday, the Xbox Game Pass library was added with to brand new releases, including a highly-rated new Xbox console exclusive. As you would expect, Xbox was promoting the heck out of these games yesterday and into today. What it hasn't been promoting are the six games that left the Game Pass library on the same day.
The most notable of these six games is undoubtedly Subnautica, an underwater open-world survival exploration game that was released in 2018. Developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, it debuted in 2018 after a couple of years in Steam Early Access. Upon release, it garnered a Metacritic score of 87, and as of 2020, it's sold over five million copies, making it one of the biggest success stories of the year. Unfortunately, it's no longer available via Xbox Game Pass, which means its 20 percent discount to Game Pass subscribers has also expired.
"Subnautica is an underwater adventure game set on an alien ocean planet. A massive, open world full of wonder and peril awaits you," reads an official blurb about the game. "You have crash-landed on an alien ocean world, and the only way to go is down. Subnautica's oceans range from sun-drenched shallow coral reefs to treacherous deep-sea trenches, lava fields, and bio-luminescent underwater rivers. Manage your oxygen supply as you explore kelp forests, plateaus, reefs, and winding cave systems. The water teems with life: Some of it helpful, much of it harmful."
In addition to Subnautica, the following games are also no longer available via Xbox Game Pass: Supraland, Art of Rally, Next Space Rebels, One Step From Eden, and Fae Tactics. Will any of these games ever return? It's possible, but not common. If any do return, Subnautica is the most likely given its popularity.
Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are both available for $10 and $15 a month, respectively, via Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC. For more coverage on the subscription service and all things Xbox, click here.