Skip to main content

Xbox Game Pass April lineup leads off with a heavy hitter

Microsoft has revealed its Xbox Game Pass lineup for April, and it includes some big games. The list includes some new day-and-date releases and 2021 hidden gems.

Perhaps most notable among this month’s offerings is MLB The Show 22, which is available beginning today, April 5. This yearly baseball sim is a Sony-developed and published title that has historically existed solely on PlayStation consoles, making it a bit surprising as a Day One addition to Microsoft’s subscription service. What this means for the future is uncertain, but it’s an interesting step in a new direction for Sony and Microsoft’s relationship.

Recommended Videos

Another massive title landing on the service in April is Life is Strange: True Colors, the latest sequel in Square-Enix’s narrative-based exploration franchise. Although it was a bit polarizing with critics overall, it was praised for eschewing the series’ typical staggered chapter release format in favor of a more cohesive experience, and it’s worth checking out for fans of emotionally-charged tales.

Here’s the full list of April’s Game Pass games.

  • Cricket 22 (Cloud/Console) – April 5
  • MLB The Show 22 (Cloud/Console) – April 5
  • Chinatown Detective Agency (Cloud/Console/PC) – April 7
  • Dragon Age 2 (Cloud via EA Play) – April 7
  • Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (Cloud via EA Play) – April 7
  • Star Wars: Squadrons (Cloud via EA Play) – April 7
  • Life is Strange: True Colors (Cloud/Console/PC) – April 12
  • Panzer Corps 2 (PC) – April 12
  • The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk (PC) – April 12
  • Lost in Random (Cloud/Console/PC via EA Play) – April 14

Unfortunately, every month also brings with it a few losses, and this one’s no different. Game Pass will be losing F1 2019, MLB The Show 21, Pathway, Rain on Your Parade, and The Long Dark throughout the month. If you’re wanting to check any of those out, you have until April 15 for all of them except F1 2019, which will exit the service on April 18.

Billy Givens
Billy Givens is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. His work can be…
Revisit the days of translucent gaming gear with these new Xbox controllers
A white and transparent Xbox wireless controller on a black background.

Following up on its Sky Cipher special edition Xbox Wireless Controller, Microsoft has announced a full series of transparent controllers now available for preorder.

The Cipher Series Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 comes in six different color options. The white Ghost Cipher is the most transparent-looking, but there are also Velocity Cipher, Astral Cipher, Surf Cipher, Candy Cipher, and Pulse Cipher, which are Xbox green, purple, blue, pink, and red, respectively. You can mix and match D-pad, button, joystick, and trigger colors, and get your own in the Design Lab. A base model will cost $150, and be wary of any add-ons that might up the price more than you'd like.

Read more
When is Stardew Valley 1.6 coming to consoles? Switch, PS5, Xbox, more
A player fishes in their local pond.

 

There are few cozy games as successful and beloved as Stardew Valley, so it's no wonder it has received regular updates since its 2016 release. If you're a fan of the game, you've no doubt been looking forward to its new 1.6 update, which brings some pretty substantial changes and bug fixes to improve the gameplay experience. Unfortunately for some players, the update has only been released on PC so far, meaning console players have been left wondering when they'll get an opportunity to see all of the fresh changes in the game. Here's when console players will be able to enjoy all the new content on their farms
When is Stardew Valley update 1.6 coming to consoles?
https://x.com/ConcernedApe/status/1837953798289199323

Read more
3 new Xbox Game Pass games to check out this weekend (September 20-22)
Key art for Frostpunk 2.

As the fall season approaches, the number of high-profile Xbox Game Pass additions is rising. That said, the service also does a great job of appealing to players who are fans of more specific, niche genres. September 2024 has been particularly kind to Xbox Game Pass subscribers who are fans of simulation or strategy games that require a deeper level of engagement and dedication. These are the kinds of games I'm recommending to you this week, especially because one of them launches right into Microsoft's video game subscription service today.
Frostpunk 2

Later today, Frostpunk 2 will get its wide release on PC and be available to Game Pass subscribers. It is a more ambitious sequel to an enthralling yet stressful city-builder in which players try to survive in a harsh, snowy apocalypse. Frostpunk 2 increases the scale of things as players try to maintain the restored civilization they built from scratch in the first game. It exacerbates the already stressful nature of real-time city-builders but in a way that works perfectly in its postapocalyptic world. Frostpunk 2 is only available on PC, and you can play it there with a PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game

Read more