In the year or so since Microsoft bounded into the next generation console race with its two pronged Xbox Series systems, the publisher’sGame Passsubscription service has arguably gone from strength to strength. Even though the monthly or annual fee that players invest in has always provided mouth watering value in return,recent additions likeForza Horizon 5and the upcomingHalo Infinitewill no doubt sweeten the deal even further for fans of the Xbox ecosystem.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
Taking just one quick glance at the latest entry in the iconicMicrosoft Flight Simulatorseries and its impressive list of technical features makes it readily apparent why Asobo Studio’s game isn’t on Xbox One, let alone the platform’s subsequent Game Pass offerings. Released in 2020 to widespread critical plaudits on PC,the simply titledMicrosoft Flight Simulatorfinally landed safely on the Xbox Series X and S consoles earlier this year. Like all of the publisher’s internally incubated and owned IPs, the simulation game naturally debuted on Game Pass day-and-date for good measure.
Pulling in real-world map data fromMicrosoft’s cloud-based Azure techto generate its surprisingly accurate rendition of planet Earth, it stands to reason that the Xbox One and its 2014-based hardware would simply be unable to cope with the high performance requirements that the game needs to run smoothly. That’s without even factoring in impressive elements like the games procedurally generated AI, volumetric lighting, or raymarching tech. As it stands right now, all of this ensures thatMicrosoft Flight SImulatoris the only recent first party console title in the publisher’s repertoire that’s not on the Xbox One’s version of Game Pass.
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Recompile
Released in August 2021,Recompileis a Metroidvania inspired indie gamethat puts players into the metaphorical shoes of a sentient computer program that’s desperately trying to prevent itself from being deleted. Stylized as a hacking adventure, the existential horror of the game’s premise forces players to grapple with the 3D world of the Mainframe, alongside some intense combat, platforming, and puzzle based gameplay loops. While the title does feature some admittedly impressive graphics and visual effects, the fact that developer Phigames is a micro studio is likely the reason whyRecompileisn’t playable on the Xbox One, or its Netflix-esque Game Pass library. When there’s only limited resources available to create a game, it makes sense from a number of management reasons to focus on optimizing the platforms that are going to be around for the next decade.
The Medium
Even thoughThe Mediumwas first envisionedas a PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 game back in 2012, the dimension-hopping antics that protagonist Marianne now undertakes during her adventure are likely the reason why Bloober Team has opted to forgo the Xbox One entirely. Based on the occasional technical hiccups that players ran into when the game initially launched, it’s easy to imagine that the outgoing Xbox system would struggle to handle the simultaneous rendering of the ‘real-world’ and ghostly spirit dimension.
The Riftbreaker
It should be noted that when the game was initially unveiled to the world, there was talk thatThe Riftbreakerwould make its way to Xbox One and PS4 at an undetermined point in the future, after its release on PC and the next generation machines. Right now, one month after the initiation of that proposed staged release schedule, there’s been no further mention of those last generation ports from its talented Poland-based creator, Exor Studio. If the ports do still come to fruition, it stands to reason that the game would arrive on theXbox One’s version of Game Passat that time as well. By a similar token to the aforementionedRecompile,though, it would also make sense for a number of money, time, and resource reasons if this particular indie studio opted to concentrate its attention elsewhere, locking the game permanently to the Xbox Series version ofGame Pass.
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