Xbox Game Pass: Flight Simulator Coming Soon (And So Much More)

They keep telling me Xbox Game Pass is “the Netflix of video games,” but I tend to disagree. On an average day, there honestly isn’t all that much on Netflix that compels me to turn the dang thing on. Maybe that makes me a fringe case. But my point is, Game Pass is more like the Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Funimation, and Paramount+ of video games. There’s bound to be an original series to click on somewhere, and if not, I can default to Dragon Ball Super or that episode of Star Trek: Voyager that the producers publicly apologized over. But Game Pass is getting Microsoft Flight Simulator, so it’s a tough call on how I choose to spend my Saturday night.

Live Service with a Smile

You’ve probably heard it all before, but for $14.99 per month Xbox Game Pass nets you an incredible number of all-you-can-play hit games including everything from Electronic Arts’ own suite, EA Play. While Sony has been making inroads with its PlayStation Now service, there’s honestly no comparison yet; Game Pass remains the king. I say this as someone who owns and adores both a PS5 and an Xbox Series X — if a vast library of rotating titles is right up your enjoyment alley, the House of Halo is your dealer.

Microsoft, in all its infinite politeness, periodically provides us with extended heads-ups on what to expect from Game Pass. The tail end of July is looking like a particularly nice suite, so let’s mull over these choices. If you see anything that stands out, be sure to download it as soon as it’s out.

Out Today

First, here’s a couple of sweet treats available as of today. Cris Tales comes to us by way of Colombian developers Carlos Rocha Salva and Sebastian Villareal, as well as the rest of the talented folks at Dreams Unincorporated. The Latin influences are readily apparent in this love letter to classic JRPGs; gorgeous vistas and iconic structures fill the world that protagonist Crisbell inhabits. Crisbell, a newly-awakened time mage, must patch together past, present, and future in a bit of an ode to 1995 classic Chrono Trigger.

Also available straightaway is the xCloud version of Battlefield V. If you’re not sure what xCloud is, here’s a primer, but the shorthand’s that the service allows you to stream games onto compatible devices like iPhones, iPads, and Windows Surface laptops. Plenty of controller options are available to you, including — a touch ironically — Sony’s DualShock 4. Playing Battlefield V on an iPad sounds wild to me, but then, wild is fun.

The Big One

Before we get to the rest of the list, allow me to highlight what is likely to make the greatest splash on Game Pass, Microsoft Flight Simulator. For the first time, a Flight Simulator game is coming to home consoles. More importantly, it’s this particular installment. Within two weeks of its September 2020 launch, players had already logged well over 1.8 billion miles piloting 26 million flights across the world.

Why is this one so hot? Well, look at it.

This level of fidelity is seen throughout virtually the entire game thanks to Bing Maps. (It’s Microsoft, so naturally, it’s not Google but a Google competitor.) Utilizing thorough topography data and applying it to Azure cloud-based architecture permits the designers to create a striking view of Earth that is sure to lure in plenty of Xbox Game Pass subscribers on July 27.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is too gorgeous to appeal strictly to fans of the flight sim genre (hence its inclusion on Game Pass), but with so many available aircraft and the degree of depth one would expect, even the most hardcore fans have struggled to find much to dislike.

More Late-July Game Pass Grabs

Strap yourself in for an extensive list. Just because Flight Simulator is likely to take the top downloads crown doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of other upcoming games to enjoy.

Atomicrops (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 22
Atomicrops is an action-packed, roguelite, bullet-hell game where you must defend and cultivate the last farm in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Tend to mutated crops (be careful, some have teeth), marry townsfolk (ooh la la), collect cats (because who wouldn’t?!), and kill every mutant creature that tries to invade! This ain’t no ordinary farming simulator.

Raji: An Ancient Epic (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 22
Take on the role of Raji, a young girl blessed by the gods to defend the human realm from an onslaught of demonic beings that seek to destroy her world. Brother and sister, Raji and Golu, separated by the attacking demonic hordes, now find themselves in the middle of a great war. Raji has taken it upon herself to find her brother and put an end to this reckless conflict.

Last Stop (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 22
Developed by Variable State, creators of the award-winning Virginia, and available with Xbox Game Pass on day one, Last Stop is a single-player, third-person adventure set in present-day London, where you play as three separate characters whose worlds collide in the midst of a supernatural crisis.

Blinx: The Time Sweeper (Cloud and Console) – July 26
Coming to Xbox Game Pass to celebrate 20 Years of Xbox, Blinx: The Time Sweeper is a fast-paced action game featuring a cool, clever character in wild, warped worlds. The ability to control the flow of time provides a classic 4-dimensional gaming experience.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Cloud and Console) – July 26
Celebrating 20 Years of Xbox, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge combines thrilling aerial combat with the swashbuckling style of a Hollywood action-adventure movie. Set in an alternate 1930s world of gunship diplomacy and sinister intrigue, pilot powerful aircraft against nefarious air pirates and behemoth war zeppelins.

Lethal League Blaze (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 29
An intense, high speed ball game with unique characters, outta sight sounds, and none of that weak stuff. In Shine City, the anti-gravity ball game has long been illegal. The group who kept playing was dubbed the Lethal League. Even now, with their sport pushed underground, players and crews compete for challenge and respect.

Omno (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 29
Available with Xbox Game Pass on day one! A single-player journey of discovery through an ancient world of wonders, created by solo developer Jonas Manke. Full of puzzles, secrets, and obstacles to overcome, where the power of a lost civilization will carry you through forests, deserts, and tundra – even to the clouds.

Project Wingman (PC) [email protected] – July 29
In an immersive flight experience, you’ll dogfight, strike, and fly your way to conquering the skies. Strap yourself into the cockpit of over 20 unique aircraft and become a true ace in Project Wingman.

The Ascent (Cloud, Console, and PC) [email protected] – July 29
Available with Xbox Game Pass on day one, The Ascent is a solo and co-op action-shooter RPG set in a cyberpunk world. The mega corporation that owns you and everyone, The Ascent Group, has just collapsed. Can you survive without it?

Coming and Going

It’s kind of funny how Microsoft Flight Simulator is joined by two other plane games on Xbox Game Pass in so short a time, but Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge is an original Xbox arcade-like action game from 18 years ago, and Project Wingman is an indie aerial dogfight gig, so I suppose there’s variety even here.

Worth noting here is that three games will be leaving Xbox Game Pass, all on July 31. Sadly, this does happen, but then I suppose the Netflix comparisons are even more apt as such. Be sure to check these out fast if you’re interested.