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Xbox announced this week the next wave of games coming to Game Pass in June, with this wave splashing over into the first week of July. While this cluster of games only contains one new launch, it also has a few major recent releases. This is the first announcement of new games since Xbox confirmed it’s increasing the monthly price of an Xbox Game Pass subscription. This wave of games will be the last ones added before the price goes up.
The titles coming this week are both the aforementioned day one launch — adventure game The Bookwalker — and a major release — Need for Speed Unbound, which launched last November. Both join the service today, June 22. Most of the rest of the games join next week. These include action-adventure game Bramble: The Mountain King (June 27), metroidvania F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch (June 27) and classic farming sim Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (June 29).
The final two games, which join in July, are management adventure Arcade Paradise (July 3) and action-RPG Sword and Fairy: Together Forever (July 5). The games leaving the service in this wave are DJMax Respect V, Empire of Sin, Matchpoint – Tennis Championships, Olija, Omori and Road 96. All leave Game Pass on June 30.
During the recent Xbox Games Showcase, part of the summer gaming event, the company revealed that most of its upcoming games are coming to Game Pass on their day of launch. While the service has seen a slight drop-off in the number of day one releases in the past months, Xbox seems committed to bringing as many triple-A games to the service as it can.
However, this influx of major titles could also be the reason behind the recent price hike, which is supposed to happen on July 6. According to the Verge, the price for a basic Xbox Game Pass subscription is going from $9.99 USD to $10.99, and Game Pass Ultimate is going from $14.99 to $16.99. Xbox is also raising the price of Series X consoles in several countries.
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