Kingdom Hearts 3, Yakuza Zero coming to Xbox Game Pass

By Giovanni Colantonio February 18, 2020

It seems the draw of Xbox Game Pass becomes more irresistible each month as the subscription service continues adding gaming heavyweights. It looks like that trend will continue as Microsoft revealed the latest crop of additions, which includes Kingdom Hearts 3.

The popular action RPG launched last year, bringing the series to Xbox for the first time alongside its PS4 release. The mainline Kingdom Hearts games were synonymous with 2000s-era Sony, making the cross-platform launch a significant win for Microsoft.

The rest of the lineup joins the Xbox family, too, with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue now available for purchase on the Xbox One. The titles offer remasters of previous Kingdom Hearts games to a Microsoft system for the first time. Both games were scheduled for a 2020 release but had no set launch date.

Unfortunately for PC owners, Kingdom Hearts 3 is only available on the PS4 and Xbox One, so only members of Microsoft’s Game Pass for console can take advantage of the newcomer.

Square Enix and Microsoft are building a solid working relationship. Prior to the Kingdom Hearts editions, Microsoft announced last year that 10 Final Fantasy games would release on Game Pass in 2020.

While Kingdom Hearts 3 is the headliner of the bunch, Microsoft revealed other exciting additions to Game Pass, including Yakuza Zero, Wasteland Remastered, and Two Point Hospital for console and PC.

Xbox One owners will get Ninja Gaiden 2 and Jackbox Party Pack 3, and Indivisible and Reigns: Game of Thrones will come to PC. Indivisible was previously only available on console. The new Game Pass titles will launch between February 20 and 27, with the exception of Wasteland Remastered, which has an initial release date of February 25.

The games join an already impressive lineup that makes Xbox Game Pass one of the most enticing deals in gaming today. Last E3, Microsoft doubled down on its support of the service by unveiling Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, making it accessible to those who don’t own an Xbox One. Microsoft says that Game Pass will be “available when you power on your Xbox Series X in Holiday 2020.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

Gaming

Goldeneye 007 comes to Game Pass and Nintendo Switch later this week

goldeneye 007 switch xbox release date january 27

Rare, Nintendo, and Xbox Game Studios confirmed that their remaster of classic Nintendo 64 FPS Goldeneye 007 will launch on January 27 across Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
GoldenEye 007 – Xbox Game Pass Date Reveal Trailer
For most, this long-awaited enhanced re-release will be locked behind a subscription service. On Nintendo Switch, the only way to play Goldeneye 007 is with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscription, which grants players access to a variety of Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, NES, and SNES games alongside the DLC to some first-party Nintendo titles. That said, Microsoft has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version of Goldeneye 007 will be the only one to feature online multiplayer, although it'll still be displayed in split-screen.
Meanwhile, the Xbox versions of Goldeneye 007 don't have online multiplayer but benefit from the addition of achievements and an upgraded 16:9 4K resolution. To play the game on Xbox, you'll need to either have an Xbox Game Pass subscription or own the gaming compilation Rare Replay that was released in 2015. Still, fans are probably happy that they'll just be able to experience this classic on a modern controller.
While it has aged quite a bit, Goldeneye 007 is a highly influential FPS game that also became an iconic Nintendo 64 release thanks to its fun multiplayer. Unfortunately, the license it's attached to likely prevented the game from getting a proper re-release until now. It was one of the best announcements in September's Nintendo Direct, and its launch will also technically mark the first Xbox first-party game released in 2022.
Goldeneye 007 releases for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on January 27.

Gaming

If you think you know what to expect from Atomic Heart, think again

A robot's face pulls apart as it screams in Atomic Heart.

After playing the first three hours of Atomic Heart, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on what to expect. The upcoming first-person shooter felt like a clear spiritual cousin to Bioshock Infinite, trading in the 1922 skies of Columbia for an alternate history vision of the Soviet Union circa 1955. I’d wander through dark corridors, fending off rogue androids while unraveling the mystery of a utopian paradise run amok. Simple.

Moments later, a developer shot me forward into a small open world where I was hoisting spore-infected monsters into the air with the flick of my wrist and driving a car through a pack of androids like they were bowling pins. I’d barely even begun to see the full scope of the project in those first three hours.

Gaming

Xbox Game Pass adds a little and loses a lot this month

persona 4 golden 500000 players all out attack

Microsoft revealed the games coming to and leaving Xbox Game Pass this month, and there's an odd imbalance. Only three new games are announced to be coming to the service throughout the rest of January. Still, we will lose six games on January 15, including last year's indie hidden gem Nobody Saves the World and We Happy Few, a title from first-party Xbox studio Compulsion Games.
As for what's coming to Xbox Game Pass throughout the rest of January, we have three highly anticipated Xbox ports that are day-one launches on the subscription service. Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden will come to the service on January 19, while Monster Hunter Rise will be added on January 20. All three games will be available across the cloud, console, and PC versions of the service. Meanwhile, the what's leaving on January 15 list is double the length of what's being added:

We Happy Few
Nobody Saves the World
Windjammers 2
The Anacrusis
Pupperazzi
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc