Xbox Game Pass has suddenly removed one of its biggest new games that was planned to become available in July. This past week, Xbox announced a lineup of 10 new titles that would be rolling out to the various tiers of Game Pass in the weeks ahead. This slate included games such as Gears of War: Reloaded, Quarantine Zone, and Tamashika, just to name a few. And while one big-name game was previously included in these forthcoming additions, it has now been nixed for reasons that aren’t clear.
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In a recent update shared on Xbox Wire, it was revealed that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 will no longer be releasing on Xbox Game Pass. This remake of the first two installments in the iconic skateboarding series launched back in 2020 and went on to be hugely successful. So much so, in fact, that Activision went on to remake Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 this past year. While THPS 1+2 was slated to release across all tiers of Xbox Game Pass on July 21st, this will no longer be the case.
As for the reasoning behind this decision, Xbox didn’t provide any further details on why Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 had been deleted from this month’s Game Pass lineup. Not only did it refuse to share any information on the matter, but Xbox also didn’t state whether or not THPS 1+2 would come to Game Pass at another point in the months ahead. Because of this, subscribers who were looking forward to checking out the game for themselves might now never be able to download it through Game Pass.
This move on Xbox’s part is even more confusing when considering that the company owns the rights to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater IP. Following its acquisition of Activision, Xbox became the license holder of the THPS property, which means that it can dictate when and how games in the franchise are released. As such, there seemingly aren’t any hurdles that would keep Xbox from adding Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 to Game Pass at any point that it wanted.
With this in mind, Xbox could simply be looking to stagger out Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 at a later time. This would make sense given that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 just hit Xbox Game Pass at the start of July and has, in theory, already scratched the itch of those looking to play a skateboarding game. Rather than releasing THPS 1+2 so closely in proximity to THPS 3+4 on Game Pass, Xbox could be looking to add it at another time in the months ahead when it would feel a bit more unique.
