Hot on the heels of mega-hits Modern Warfare 3 and EA Sports FC 24, Xbox is set to deliver another wave of exciting Game Pass games this August.
On Tuesday (July 30), the gaming giant revealed that Mafia: Definitive Edition is coming to the subscription service on August 13.
If you’ve had your fill of GTA Online’s wacky antics, the single-player Mafia series offers a more grounded, cinematic take on the open-world crime genre.
Set in the fictional city of Lost Heaven during the raucous 1930s, Mafia: The Definitive Edition is a remake of the original 2002 game. It has 4K visuals and new gameplay including rideable motorbikes.
Xbox Game Pass games for August leaked
According to a new leak, the game is among several new titles being added to Game Pass in August.
The other big hitters include 2017’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which bundles together remastered versions of the first three games in the classic platforming series.
It was rumoured to be heading to Game Pass after Microsoft started exporting Activision-Blizzard titles to the service following its acquisition of the blockbuster games publisher. Diablo 4 came in March and MW3 arrived earlier this month (with Black Ops 6 to follow in October).
Another notable addition is Core Keeper, confirmed for Game Pass inclusion on August 27 following its early access period. Like Legend of Zelda meets Minecraft, the procedurally-generated dungeon crawler is already highly rated on Steam and looks set to be your next favourite online co-op game.
Then, there’s Creatures of Ava; a creature-taming adventure that has viral hit Palworld and its inspiration Pokémon in its sights. The game’s developer, 11 Bit Studios, previously said it would launch on Game Pass this year (with Xbox Series X/S consoles and PC). Steam’s list says it will be released on August 7.
Rounding off the newcomers is last year’s God of War wannabe Atlas Fallen; a turn-based strategy game called Wargroove 2 that should appeal to fans of Advance Wars and Fire Emblem; and fellow indie Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato.
The new games were outed in a pair of YouTube videos by gaming channels Nate the Hate and eXtas1s. Of course, Xbox may also have a few surprises up its sleeve.
What is Game Pass?
Xbox Game Pass lets you download or stream games (including some of the biggest new releases) on consoles, PC, mobiles, and the web for a monthly fee. Like Netflix, you can cancel whenever — making it a great way to play games you normally wouldn’t buy.
News of the new additions came after Microsoft announced a massive shake-up to Game Pass. This involves price rises and a new subscription tier that will effectively replace the £9 console-only plan (sans new releases).
Amid a massive decline in Xbox console sales, Microsoft is morphing from primarily a hardware manufacturer to a dominant gaming publisher after its Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard acquisitions. The company also plans to release a mobile gaming store designed as an alternative to mobile app stores for gamers.
