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Xbox Game Pass adds one of 2022’s best racing games this month

Microsoft has revealed that games that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass throughout the rest of June and even into early July. While the list lacks any major exclusives or first-party games, a solid racing game from 2022 and some intriguing indies make it an interesting batch. Thankfully, the losses the service will suffer at the end of the month aren’t too bad either.

The most notable game to hit Xbox Game Pass Ultimate during the back half of June will be Need for Speed Unbound. Coming to the service via its EA Play connection, this is a solid racing game that I gave a three-and-a-half-star review last year. At the time, I said it was “a surprisingly entertaining racer in a year that hasn’t seen much racing game excitement since Gran Turismo 7.” On the indie side of things, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales will be a day one Xbox Game Pass release on June 22. It’s an isometric adventure game where the main gimmick is that players can enter the worlds of books they come across.

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Former PlayStation console exclusive F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch will also come to Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass on June 27. This is the full list of titles you can expect to come to the subscription service between today and July 5.

  • Need for Speed Unbound — June 22
  • The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales — June 22
  • Bramble: The Mountain King — June 27
  • F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch — June 27
  • Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town — June 29
  • Arcade Paradise — July 3
  • Sword and Fairy: Together Forever — July 5

As is usually the case, a number of games will leave Xbox Game Pass at the end of the month. Thankfully, June 30’s removals aren’t too significant, with the biggest losses being John Romero’s Empire of Sin and the viral RPG Maker game Omori. Here’s the full list of titles leaving next Friday.

  • DJMax Respect V
  • Empire of Sin
  • Matchpoint – Tennis Championships
  • Olija
  • Omori
  • Road 96

All in all, it’s a somewhat muted update for Xbox Game Pass. Things are bound to get a lot more interesting as we head into the back half 2023 and titles like Exoprimal, Starfield, The Lamplighters League, Lies of P, and Forza Motorsport come to the service. 

Tomas Franzese
A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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