Xbox removes some of 2023’s biggest games including Persona and Like a Dragon titles

OCTOBER was a great month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, as the service added new games to every membership plan, including Standard.

The month was a welcome change for fans, who had seen a decline in the quality and quantity of Game Pass titles since the announcement of the Game Pass price increase.

Ryu Ga Gotoku

Like A Dragon Gaiden bridges the gap between Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth[/caption]

Ryu Ga Gotoku

Like a Dragon: Ishin! was one of the best games of 2023[/caption]

People thought that it might be the return to the previous quality of the Game Pass subscription service, but November has shown Xbox slipping back into its old ways.

Only three games have been added to Game Pass in November, and they are only for Ultimate and PC subscribers.

Adding insult to injury, a number of huge releases are being removed from Xbox Game Pass in November.

Seven games are leaving Game Pass this month, including three of last year’s biggest releases.

Two of the biggest games are from the Like a Dragon series, and both of them were huge hits from last year.

The first game is Like a Dragon: Ishin!, a spin-off that features characters from the series but is loosely based on the real-life story of samurai Ryoma Sakamoto.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is the other game leaving, a smaller entry that bridges the gap between Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

The other large 2023 release that’s leaving Game Pass is Persona 5 Tactica, a strategy game featuring the characters from the award-winning Persona 5.

Here is the full list of games leaving Xbox Game Pass on November 15, 2024:

• Dicey Dungeons – Cloud, console, & PC
• Dungeons 4  – Cloud, console, & PC
• Goat Simulator – PC
• Like a Dragon: Ishin! – Cloud, console, & PC
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name – Cloud, console, & PC
• Persona 5 Tactica – Cloud, console, & PC
• Somerville – Cloud, console, & PC

Taking a Pass

The US Federal Trade Commission labelled Game Pass a ‘degraded product’, and we have to agree with the assessment.

With the lack of Game Pass Standard additions over the last few months, it’s hard to see how it’s comparable to the quality of the now-defunct Xbox Game Pass for Console.

Not only that but Standard costs significantly more than Console did, in what feels like an effort to push subscribers to sign up to the expensive Ultimate tier.

We still hold out hope that Xbox will return to the previous high quality of Game Pass, but it seems increasingly unlikely by the day.

If you want to read more about the console, check out how Final Fantasy will launch on Xbox.