Xbox Game Pass Surprises Players With Two Original Xbox Games

Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have two new games to play, but not two ordinary games. Typically, Xbox Game Pass is updated with Xbox One and Xbox Series X games. This week, in addition to these type of games, it’s also been updated with two original Xbox games that when combined are 37 years old. One of these games is a certified cult classic while the other is from the “Platinum Hits” collection. Suffice to say, nostalgic Xbox gamers are excited to see them added.

The first of the two games is Blinx: The Time Sweeper, which debuted back in 2002 via developer Artoon, publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and director Naoto Ohshima, best known as the designer of Sonic the Hedgehog. Famously pitched as “The World’s First 4D Action Game,” Blinx: The Time Sweeper is an Xbox exclusive that sold appreciably for its time, but failed to make a mark critically, landing at a score of 71 on Metacritic.

“Blinx: The Time Sweeper is a fast-paced action game featuring a cool, clever new character in wild, warped worlds,” reads an official pitch of the game. “The ability to control the flow of time provides a totally new 4-dimensional gaming experience only possible on Xbox.”

The second of the two games is Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, another OG Xbox exclusive, but from 2003. Developed by FASA Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the game failed to take off commercially, despite coming in with a very solid Metacritic score of 88. As a lack of commercial success in the face of critical acclaim often does, this difference would eventually earn the title the reputation of a cult classic.

“Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge combines thrilling aerial combat with the swashbuckling style of a Hollywood action-adventure movie,” reads an official pitch of the game. “Set in an alternate 1930s world of gunship diplomacy and sinister intrigue, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge lets you pilot powerful aircraft against nefarious air pirates and behemoth war zeppelins.”

Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are available — for $10 and $15 a month, respectively — via the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. For more coverage on the subscription service, click here. In the most recent and related news, new comments from former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden about Xbox Game Pass and its sustainability have the Xbox community in an uproar.