Xbox Game Pass to lose arguably the greatest RPG of all time – make sure you play it for free while you still can
A load of games are coming to Game Pass in the next two weeks, but one of the best games of all time is also leaving
Quick Summary
The latest games being added to Xbox Game Pass include the prequel to A Plague Tale, but it's what's being removed that's perhaps even more of an eye-opener.
The Witcher 3 will no longer be on the platform from 31 August.
The right hand giveth, the left taketh away – Xbox is certainly living by that idiom this month. Not only has it announced a decent collection of new games coming to Game Pass, it's revealed that one of the greatest RPGs – one of the best games, full stop – is leaving the platform, too.
While new sould-like platformer Vapor World: Over the Mind has been added today, with the new Plague Tale adventure, Resonance, coming on 27 August, you can also say goodbye to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered Edition.
CD Projekt Red's masterpiece will only be available until 31 August and removed from Game Pass for cloud play or console.
Also leaving on that day are Another Crab's Treasure, I Am Your Beast, Neon Abyss, and One Lonely Outpost.
Still, at least Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy looks great. The action-adventure game acts as a prequel to A Plague Tale: Requiem and has you step into the shoes of Sophia across two time zones – the familiar Middle Ages and Ancient Greece.
It'll be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members first. The same is true with Vapor World and Blood Dungeon (coming on 25 August), although there are plenty of new additions for Premium members too.
From today, all subscribers to Premium, Ultimate and PC can download and play BlazBlue Entropy Effect X and Relooted. Starsand Island will arrive tomorrow, 20 August, while Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is coming on 25 August and Young Suns will be available from the last day of the month.
One game for September has also been announced – Shelldiver, which will be available to all members from the first day of the month.
How much is Xbox Game Pass and what do you get?
There are four Xbox Game Pass tiers that offer different benefits, including one that's solely for PC laptop, desktop or handheld owners.
Xbox console owners will need to subscribe to one of the plans below to play games online – or the vast majority of them, anyway.
Xbox Game Pass Essential costs £6.99 / $9.99 per month and gives you access to a curated list of 50 or so games to play at no extra cost. You also get access to Xbox Cloud Gaming to play the games on the list or supported games you own yourself.
Xbox Game Pass Premium costs £10.99 / $14.99 per month and greatly ups the amount of "free" games available to you. There are more than 200 games available in the library, to play on your console and multiple devices over the cloud. Unlike Ultimate membership, you don't get day one releases and may have to wait a year or so for those new games to be added.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the top tier and costs £16.99 / $22.99 per month. It provides access to many 100s of games, including day one releases (just not new Call of Duty games). You also get free EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew memberships. Ultimate also includes PC Game Pass membership (as below).
PC Game Pass is a separate subscription for PC games. It costs £10.99 / $13.99 per month and gives you over 300 titles to download or play over the cloud. Like Ultimate, it includes day one releases (bar COD), as well as EA Play membership.
